Berlin.
The cost explosion did not go unnoticed by the ice cream industry either. Which trends customers expect and what they have to pay for them.
The sun is slowly peeking out of the gray clouds. And from the experiences of the last hot summers, a cool refreshment at the ice cream parlor Provide a remedy for dry throats. After the ice cream industry suffered greatly from Corona, it started the ice cream season in 2023 with new ideas and trends. However, sharp increases in food and energy prices are also causing problems for this industry – with consequences for customers.
What will be very popular again this year are the classic ice cream flavors, as Annalisa Carnio from the Union of Italian Ice Cream Manufacturers (Uniteis) reveals to this editorial team: “I can announce from the experience of last season that when the summer gets warm , the fruit ice cream flavors are all the rage.” Above all, these include The sorbet kind, which, in line with the spirit of the times, are often made from regional fruits. “People want to eat consciously, which is refreshing, light and delicious, but not too heavy,” says Carnio.
Also interesting: Tasty but unhealthy? What is important when it comes to good ice cream
In the past, however, ice cream parlors have also repeatedly experimented with more exotic ones flavors. “Combinations with unusual ingredients such as green tea or coffee are in demand, but they are never the mainstay in the ice cream parlour,” says Carnio. Accordingly, customers like to break new ground and try out new creations such as cucumber ice cream or passion fruit, but then quickly return to classics such as stracciatella. “The audience is very conservative there.”
The trend is towards vegan ice cream
In addition to the flavors, a new line is also emerging in the composition of the ingredients. “The trade is clearly demanding the vegan trend,” says Olaf Höhn, Managing Director of Florida Eis, who sells his products in wholesale in addition to his ice cream parlor in Berlin-Spandau. He currently has four types of vegan ice cream on offer: gingerbread for the winter and vanilla-mango-passion fruit for the summer, vanilla and chocolate.
As the information center for branded ice cream manufacturers, “Eis Info Service”, writes, the leading players in the industry such as Langnese or Ferrero also rely on vegan products, such as the “Raspberry Swirl” stick ice cream, which has moved to vegan chocolate. Carnio also promises for the classic ice cream parlors vegan varieties: “Chocolate ice cream is then not produced with milk and cream, but as a kind of sorbet.”
Also read:
“The trend is becoming a little healthier,” says Höhn, although “healthy” in connection with ice cream always has to be put into perspective. “Of course, we are a luxury food manufacturer and not a food manufacturer – and certainly not one that produces diet varieties.” Höhn also has lactose-free ice cream in its range for intolerances. In addition, he has reduced the sugar content compared to earlier times, although he rejects sugar-free ice cream. Carnio can also confirm that ice cream without sugar has been a rarity on the market so far. “You shouldn’t embellish that either: Ice cream should taste good and not make you healthy,” says Höhn.
self experiment: What does giving up sugar really do?
Ice cream prices are between 1.30 and over two euros
The ice cream industry has had tough times: First the corona-related lockdowns, later the inflation caused by the Ukraine war weighed on the minds of the ice cream parlor owners. “Then they opened again, then the staff was gone,” says Carnio.
But the summer of 2023 will bring light to the end of the tunnel: “There is a catch-up effect, ice cream parlors are doing well again, people are going there again,” says entrepreneur Höhn, who was also able to benefit from his wholesale business during the Corona period. Accordingly, he only had to raise the price per scoop in his Berlin ice cream parlor by ten cents this year, from 1.40 to 1.50 euros. For comparison: it started in 1984 with 50-60 cents per ball. “Today, at 1.50 euros, as a manufacturer you have to say: everything has become very expensive.”
Also exciting: Inflation: This is how expensive groceries will be in 2023
For Uniteis members, the ball price is currently between 1.30 and 1.70, although there are clear regional differences, so that in cities like Berlin or Munich a ball can cost more than two euros. “We have an optimal one Price-performance ratio for a fresh product in Germany,” Carnio advertises the prices and refers to neighboring countries such as France or Spain, where the ball can also cost well over three euros.
Ice Cream Industry: High spending due to energy and food prices
“There had to be an adjustment and that is always an operational calculation,” says Carnio. “We live in a world where everything has become more expensive”. According to the Federal Statistical Office, producer prices for ice cream have risen by almost 28 percent compared to February last year. Just the Prices According to Höhn, butter and milk have skyrocketed recently, with costs slowly returning to normal.
In addition, for most ice cream parlors, there are increased ones energy costs. “An ice cream parlor depends on electricity for production, storage and sales,” says Carnio. The increased minimum wage is also causing problems for the industry, especially since there is already a shortage of staff. When it comes to the ice cream price, the ice cream parlors would ultimately have to make a compromise in which the margin is thinner and not all costs are passed on to the customer, but the shops can still survive.
More articles from this category can be found here: Politics
