Can ice cream really sell all year round?

If there’s one product that is definitely seasonal it’s ice cream – right? Wrong. Although the ice cream market certainly experiences a spike in trade during the warmer months of the year there is still a very healthy demand for ice cream all year round. And, with a bit of creative thinking, any business can help consumers to find new ways to enjoy this delicious product.

When do consumers most enjoy ice cream?

There’s no doubt that autumn and winter are not peak months for ice cream. In terms of consumers, 53% enjoy ice cream at home all year round. However, the vast majority are doing so during the spring and summer with 1% eating ice cream at home in the winter months and 4% in the autumn. However, it’s also clear that consumers are open to enjoying ice cream in different ways and that this is something retailers can capitalise on to help create a healthy demand all year round. If you’re keen to expand your ice cream sales during autumn and winter then you might want to consider looking into the following:

• Boozy ice cream. There are lots of different ways to make ice cream more adult and more versatile, and combining it with alcohol is one of the most obvious. Whether you’re creating a frozen champagne dessert or frozen shots that can be served with a pudding or enjoyed as part of a special occasion, there is a lot of scope for blending the warmth of alcohol with cold ice cream to create something really special.
• Innovative packaging and serving ideas. One of the easiest ways to give ice cream longevity is to make it into a must-have. There are plenty of options for doing this with packaging and serving ideas, and the sky’s the limit in terms of what you opt for with your brand. For example, you might sell ice cream in two halves labelled ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ or ‘give’ and ‘take.’ This option is all about identifying the fun issues that consumers might have with the product and then applying a creative spin.
• Special occasions. There are some special occasions – such as Christmas – that only happen once a year and so creating a dedicated ice cream product for those moments might not deliver the best rewards. However, if you opt to create products for those special occasions that are more frequent (e.g. birthdays, back to school etc) you can help to give your ice cream products more year-round resilience. Distinctive and individual products that help to support celebrations are ideal for ice cream and are not that difficult to create – all you need is a little inspiration.

Although ice cream is traditionally regarded as a seasonal product that is starting to change thanks to the innovative approaches that many manufacturers and retailers are taking to marketing it. If you want to boost your ice cream sales so that they are healthy all year round then a little creativity may be all that you need.

If you’re interested in serving your very own soft serve ice cream this autumn, contact us today to find out more about our soft serve machines.