Despite many attempts to increase UK ice cream sales and to make ice cream less seasonal and less dependent on the vagaries of the British weather, average consumption remains stubbornly stuck at around 11l a head.
According to Jamie Rice, marketing director at RTS Resource, which compiled Food Manufacture's Ice Cream market report, when it comes to eating ice cream we Brits lag way behind countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the US where consumption exceeds 20l per person.
"Although many valiant attempts have been made to stimulate consumer interest - such as the development of ice cream desserts, family packs, snacks and luxury ices - consumption patterns seem to be much more strongly influenced by the weather," says Rice.
"While new developments have undoubtedly changed the ways in which ice cream is consumed, none have had a long-term effect of lifting overall consumption."
So, barring a scorchingly hot summer, what are the prospects for the UK ice cream business in an apparently static market?
The UK ice cream market last year was worth £1.4bn but, since 2002, annual growth has averaged a mere 0.27%. Ice cream also faces not just the British weather, but competition from other food and drink products such as soft drinks, beer and chocolate bars.
Against the odds
How can UK consumption be increased? The obvious answer, suggests Rice, is through new products and innovation - taking ice cream into new areas of use while encouraging greater consumer interest in the product.
At Frederick's Dairies, the UK's largest independent ice cream maker, the product development team is continually innovating. This year, for example, the company, which holds the licence for Cadbury ice creams, launched Cadbury Flake and Dairy Milk ice cream in 1l tubs.
David Taylor, sales and marketing director at Frederick's Dairies, says: "There are two key drivers fuelling growth in the ice cream market and they sit at opposite ends of the spectrum: health and indulgence. Although there's a lot of pressure for everybody to eat more healthily and to have better diet choices, what we are starting to find is that there is a bit of polarisation within the market place.
"For example, we have the licence for the Del Monte brand and Del Monte is all about fruit and so, by definition, healthy."
However, despite the increasing number of consumers who are eager to improve their health, Taylor says that ice cream remains an irresistible indulgence product. "It is what people buy to treat themselves. If they really wanted to do the healthiest thing possible, then they wouldn't be buying ice cream; they'd be buying lettuce, or spinach."
Taylor suggests that there are opportunities to be had at the premium end of the market. "People want to indulge themselves. They may not necessarily be buying as much ice cream as before, volume-wise, But they are prepared to pay more money for better quality products."
Here, flavours are as important as ever, says Taylor. "You have to buy toilet rolls, you have to buy bleach, but you don't have to buy ice cream. You buy it because you want it, so it has to taste good."
Ice cream is a very traditional market as far as flavours go, says Taylor. There are only four or five basic variants: vanilla; chocolate; strawberry; and toffee/fudge/caramel. It is all about how you mix them together and what inclusions you put in, he says.
And what about trendy new flavours? "If you are a niche restaurant somewhere and you want to put something unusual on your menu, then that's OK. But I really don't think Mrs Bloggs in Barnsley on a wet Wednesday afternoon is really going to eat avocado or smoky bacon ice cream. She wants vanilla or chocolate," says Taylor.
"Ultimately," he says, "ice cream is about doing what we already do, but doing it better and making sure that with the brands we have we communicate what consumers expect.
"The thing about ice cream that never ceases to amaze you is how many different ways it can be delivered. You can put it on a stick; you can extrude it; you can put it in a bar; you can put it in a cone, in a tub; and you can have bits in it.
"So the delivery system for ice cream is perhaps the area of the market that may change. In many ways, the future is not about the base product, but about how consumers eat it and when they eat it. People want to treat themselves, but they also don't want to be eating a big 2l tub watching television. So in terms of delivery, who knows what's around the corner."
Health without sacrifice
Synergy, an international supplier of ingredients and flavours to the food and beverage industry, has recently launched a range of natural sweeteners for use in dairy products such as ice cream that offer a 'clean label' alternative to existing sweeteners.
According to Donna Rose, customer marketing manager, the ingredient lists of food labels need to stand up to close inspection by shoppers as artificial ingredients become unwelcome additions in all sectors. "Ice cream, being a popular food for kids, is particularly subject to scrutiny, as parents, health professionals and government watchdogs demand improvements in the nutritional content of young people's diet."
Rose says that dairy products are influenced by the healthy indulgence trend. Rather than giving up treats altogether, consumers are opting for healthier versions of their favourites, she says. "However, in order to fulfil consumer expectations, products such as ice cream must continue to deliver the indulgence and enjoyment offered by the full fat and high added sugar options," she says. "The challenge involved in producing 'light' products is to maintain taste, texture and stability."
According to Charlotte Hambling, senior marketing manager at R&R Ice Cream (formerly Richmond Foods) the total take home ice cream market is worth just under £610M and is in decline due to the bad summer of 2007.
The UK impulse ice cream market, worth over £242M, is also in decline, again because of the bad summer last year - bad news for R&R which is the second largest manufacturer in the impulse ice cream market with 22% of impulse sales. Ice lolly sales were hit the hardest by last year's rotten summer and all the figures highlight how the ice cream market is reliant on good weather to drive sales, says Hambling.
But happily for R&R, its Nestlé ice cream and Skinny Cow brands actually grew in sales last year by around 10% each. Skinny Cow is the leading low-fat ice cream brand and Hambling says there is a growing trend in the healthier ice cream market.
"It fits within a consumer need. As such, products like Skinny Cow become less seasonal and more of an everyday alternative snacking occasion, or a healthier, yet indulgent, dessert," she says.
"At R&R, we've also noticed a massive increase in the super-premium sector of the ice cream market. In the last year alone, this sector has grown by 20%, helping to offset the overall market decline. Basically it's the only sector that's not affected by the weather and fits a real consumer trend for premiumisation, which makes it a veritable gold mine for profit savvy retailers."
R&R Ice Cream has recently launched a number of premium offerings including: Thorntons Ice Cream sticks, Nestlé Raspberry Cheesecake Stick and Nestlé Munchies ice cream bar and its new Rachel's Organic Ice Cream for the take-home ice cream market.
The company's Thorntons products meet a real consumer need for indulgence, says Hambling, and they provide the opportunity to add value as consumers trade up for a premium offering. The Rachel's Organic Ice Cream also provides a super-premium organic fruit option to impulse ice cream buyers, says Hambling.
R&R is focusing on the two macro trends in ice cream: premiumisation and health. "We have been looking at ways to guarantee an all-year-round performance in ice cream, identifying opportunities for winter sales. We are also very focused on perfecting category management, ensuring our customers maximise the sales opportunities from the space they allocate and that they have the optimum range available to them," she says.
A wet weather rival?
But just in case we have another wet summer and ice cream, however indulgent, becomes the last thing on consumers' minds as they don their wellies and woollies, then Aunt Bessie's may just have the answer.
It has breathed new life into the ice cream van business by offering bangers and mash in a cone. Yes, using a specially customised 'Mash Van', Aunt Bessie's has spent April touring the UK offering cones filled with creamy, warm, home-style mashed potato and a banger - all topped off with gravy and a sprinkling of peas.
Joking aside, if ice cream businesses are to survive miserable weather, then firms must take heed of the trends towards premium and healthy offerings. Many luxury brands from various sectors seem to have made a smooth transition into ice cream. So who knows, perhaps the introduction of more healthy brands could be enough to stop consumers giving ice cream the cold shoulder. FM