Added value key for ice cream vans

Industry analyst Mintel has said that sales of ‘stick’ ice creams from vans in the UK are down by a third in just three years. This has prompted inclusions and toppings company Pecan Deluxe Candy (Europe) to say it believes the trend is almost wholly attributable to the increasing availability of inclusion-packed luxury ice creams at affordable prices for home consumption. That being said, retail ice cream outlets are seeing improved sales due to the hot weather, with sales at De Meo Delaval, a Whitley Bay ice cream parlour, for example, up five-fold from a few weeks ago, and UK supermarket Waitrose reporting sales up 123% on last July, with ice lolly sales increasing by 310%, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Pecan Deluxe commercial director Graham Kingston explains: “I’m really not surprised – if saddened from a nostalgia point of view – that the traditional ice cream van lolly and ‘99’ cornet are flagging in popularity. Lifestyles have changed, families are busier and the cheerful chimes of the van doing its rounds simply don’t provide the call to action that they used to do.

“Gone are the days when the supermarket freezer presented us with the grand choice of vanilla, raspberry ripple or, if we were very lucky, rum & raisin flavour tubs of ice cream – there’s now a veritable cornucopia of colours, flavours and textures at our fingertips. Families can have a premium product in their freezer and moderate its consumption so it is still viewed as a treat, rather than queuing for a cornet or lolly at a time that doesn’t necessarily fit in with mealtime planning.”

However, Kingston believes that inclusions could also help to rejuvenate sales from ice cream vans, of which there are only 500 left in the country. He says: “Consumers are looking for a point of difference, an interesting and delicious experience from a treat that they can enjoy in their own time and space. A plain stick lolly or chocolate flake just doesn’t cut it any more, but offer exciting new toppings and inclusions like fruit-flavoured sugar pearls, strawberry fudge or micro mallows, plus unusual sauces, and servers could really pep up their offering and compete more effectively with in-home consumption.”