Navigating Ice Cream

29 April 2021

Navigating the Ice Cream Aisle.

Twenty years ago an ice cream meant a cone of whipped vanilla goodness on a hot day.

Now, picking out your ice cream is a feat many times more complicated than deciding what to get from the ice cream van’s window.

And it’s been made harder by the introduction of many “healthy” ice cream options. The low cal, low sugar, no cream ice creams.

But is that what people really want?

The clever folks in the planning department say ice cream is still sought out by the majority as an indulgent treat.

There’s a sort of weird ice cream paradox that exists when you take something indulgent, and make it less indulgent, despite its indulgence being the prime attraction in the first place.

The logic here is that if the ice cream is healthier, then you can treat yourself a little more often.

No one can deny the rising trend in healthier ice creams. Just ask the team at Halo Top, who seem to be smashing it, at least among my circle of ice cream friends.

New brands like Oatly are jumping in and some old brands are even changing recipes so they can get away with putting calorie counts on the box.

I see the current ice cream scene a bit like a battlefield.

On one side the new, fringe, low calorie tubs, seeking to reach new mouths, change habits and make ice cream a regular go to.

On the other side, the old guard, pushing indulgence, richness and the idea that if you want to treat yourself, then you should treat yourself properly.

Both messages are incompatible and to ice cream fanatics, almost as divisive as a referendum.

It says a great deal about a person, which ice cream doctrine they subscribe to.

Just ask yourself, which side are you on?

Written by Alex Hamilton.