Nestle has introduced the Tandem, a frozen novelty that combines two old American favourites – the choc ice and the ice cream sandwich.

One half of the ice cream is sandwiched between two wafers, while the other half is dipped in chocolate coating mixed with cookie pieces. Two varieties are available – Vanilla Chip (with milk chocolate) and Cookies & Cream (with dark chocolate).

Ice cream sandwiches have never caught on in Europe, where consumers expect and prefer a biscuit product to be crisp. But in the USA the soft, cake-like texture of ice cream wafers is long established and the sandwiches are hugely popular.

In terms of sector sales they are second only to the ice cream cone and claim around a quarter of the market.