Ready for summer?

It’s early in the year and the weather is very much on the cool side, but ice cream has year-round appeal and it’s never too soon for operators to have an eye on the trends and start planning for the warmer months.

ICE CREAM INSIGHT

This month sees the Ice Cream & Artisan Food Show taking place at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate, and where the entirety of the UK’s ice cream industry is represented and showcased over a three-day event.

Mayor of Harrogate, Victoria Oldham, will open the show, with celebrity chef, Gennaro Contaldo – a long term partner of the show – in attendance. There will be a demo area run by Steph Moon and Philip Mancini, as well as a seminar programme from a range of industry experts. The National Ice Cream Competition takes place at the show with the ICA Awards night for it, and other industry awards, taking place during the three days as well (visit www.ice-cream.org for the latest).

With an area dedicated to gelato and pastry, HostMilano which will take place much later in the year, also looks set to offer a point of reference for many in the sector looking to get a feel for tastes and new innovation when it comes to ice cream advances. Its organisers and associated food sector-connected networks are also a good source of trends and market thinking.

A new trend that has emerged in recent months, they report, is the push towards a hybrid form of ice cream consumption via a combining of ice cream, pastry and catering. And thanks to the event’s ambassadors and agents who monitor trends in Italy and around the world, the show organisers feel they have a good idea of how the gelato of the future is likely to be shaping up.

HYBRIDISATION

In formats, fittings and equipment, the distinction between gelato, pastry, bakery, coffee and foodservice - all sectors featured at HostMilano - is becoming more blurred, thanks to the appearance of hybrid formats, the show’s contacts indicate.

For example, an increasing number of professionals are ‘hopping’ between once rigidly-defined sectors, with exclusive, dedicated formats. Gelato makers are experimenting with bread-making and other leavened items, and star-rated chefs are opening gelaterias and pastry shops, with good quality coffee thrown in for good measure.

Another trend identified by HostMilano, and made even more evident by the opening of new establishments that bring together under one roof foodservice, is a pastry shop and a bar/café offering mixology and machines that change function and temperature to suit the season and production requirements, thus shifting effortlessly from gelato to pastry.

Such hybrid solutions have the potential to allow a single machine to carry out a wide and up to date series of processes, suitable for covering the needs of the various market segments, with different technologies presented in a single piece of equipment. Therefore, it is increasingly important to adapt to the various consumption moments of the day and to the customer groups with their different needs, propose HostMilano.

Some ice cream shops, for example, during the low season, offer chocolate and biscuits and aim above all for the creation of ice cream and sorbets on sticks, much loved in the winter season.

SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES

The gelato, pastry and bakery area at HostMilano will be part of a unique exhibition concept aimed at combining vertical specialisation with the synergies within the supply chain in the various macro-areas, including professional catering, coffee and tea, table furnishings. And in putting this together, HostMilano says that it has already detected three significant trends for 2023 relating to the ‘gelato universe’.

Delivery - the consumer is always looking for novelties, new purchasing methods, dictated by changes in society.

Quality - indispensable for ice cream shops that will have to get more and more used to dealing with an increasingly demanding market.

Entrepreneurship – in particular, the sector will have to learn to better manage costs and consumption.

However, it seems that the “Third Millennium Gelato” is well placed to be able to respond to these needs. Starting with food delivery - which has seen the ‘cold dessert’ growing steadily in recent years - and also thanks to the pandemic and climate change (in the last year it has scored a +41%, according to JustEat/BVA Doxa data), it is felt.

The ability to reinvent, even out of season, by offering new and different products remains fundamental. The cold dessert can embrace local ingredients, but also the tastes of dishes, sweet or savoury, which can recall tradition and collective memory, as well as promote innovative new tastes.

ADAPTATION

Gelato is popular all over the world, but it is very definitely adapting to local flavours and ingredients, and rightly so, most sector observers feel.

HostMilano, in its regular survey of the new market dynamics with the support of the HostAmbassadors, confirms that the prevailing trend is to draw inspiration from traditional flavours.

From Australia, for instance, there is the nasi lemak gelato, based on the traditional rice, anchovy and sambal savoury dish from Indonesia, but there is no lack of representation from some of the “native” Australian ingredients in there too, such as lemon myrtle, saltbush, sandalwood nut, cinnamon myrtle, quandong (a desert plum) and finger lime, all of which are popping up in more of the sector’s larger-scale production as well.

In Spain, people appreciate flavours that are connected to memories and sweet traditional pastries such as carquinyolis, pets de monja, panellets, but also seasonal products like chestnuts. Sometimes, traditions are also ‘imported’ and successfully used far (or not so far, perhaps) from their place of origin. This is happening in France, where an Italian classic, or better Sicilian, is now achieving a great success – namely, almond milk granita.

VEGAN, HEALTHY AND GOOD

Gelato is moving with the times and so flavours are evolving too. Herbs and vegetables are being included, and recipes are cutting back on sugars and fats. Conscious nutrition even extends to eating vegan, organic, low-calorie gelato, with no added sugar or fat and made from natural ingredients.

Another emerging trend coming from Germany, report the show organisers, is the inclusion of vegetables and herbs in gelato such as pumpkin, dandelion, cucumber, celery, ginger, basil and more.

Vegan and plant-based gelato is definitely set to grow also in the UK, they feel, where we are witnessing a real boom in variety and tastes. This is an unstoppable wave that can also be found in the USA, the world’s second largest consumer (according to WorldAtlas data), with an annual per capita consumption of 15 litres, behind New Zealand.

Gelato really is an American tradition, in fact. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan even designated July as National Gelato Month. The American palate certainly loves the traditional flavours of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, but a new trend in gelato making is emerging in the States, HostMilano’s contacts report - small batch gelato shops.

These shops have implemented an approach, method and philosophy of making gelato in small, customised batches, using fresh, locally-sourced seasonal ingredients and involving a lot of TLC as well as quality control. In such outlets, it is possible to find sweet, but also savoury, recipes with ice cream based on wine, bacon, sage and lavender, to name but a few.

FLEXIBLE RANGE

‘’With spring around the corner, hospitality businesses are considering what new additions they can add and what new equipment is available to help them maximise profit margins,” says Michael Eyre, product director at sector supplier, Jestic.

“A soft-serve ice cream is loved by children and adults alike, and it can be the perfect solution for cafés that are looking to diversify their menu and increase their profits. Ice creams are an indulgent and impulsive purchase that are low cost and high profit for operators and can be easily elevated by additions such as sprinkles and accessories to further increase profits. The trick to being successful is in choosing the right equipment that excels in every area from performance to quality.”

Jestic Foodservice Solutions distributes the Icetro range of soft ice cream machines which are easy to operate, clean and maintain, say the company. The quality of the Icetro 161 Slimline Counter-top Soft Ice Cream Machine was recognised in the 2021’s Commercial Kitchen, Innovation Challenge, where it was crowned a gold winner.

The Icetro 161 measures just 30cm wide, and with its vertical rear ventilation, it can fit in almost any space making it ideal for smaller cafés and start-up cafés that have smaller operations, say Jestic. Fitted with an easy-to-use LCD touch panel, the compact Icetro 161 serves two cones per minute and also benefits from inverter technology for quiet operation. For busy sites where speed of service is essential, Icetro 321 is an option. With an output of 30kg an hour, operators can produce up to 20 consecutive cones and 300 cones per hour. Counter-top ready and compact, Icetro 321 is easy to clean and use, and boasts a standby mode and low-level mix alert. And if you are looking for a twin-flavour counter-top soft ice cream machine, their Icetro 163 could be of interest as it can produce over 20 consecutive cones and 300 per hour and offer two flavours from just one counter-top machine. Plus, the twist function is a real point of difference as it allows you to dispense a single portion with both flavours.

SET SALES SOARING THIS SUMMER

The luxurious Gelato Lusso range from Suncream Ice Cream claims to be more than a great tasting, fabulous looking range of premium Italian Gelateria style scooping ice creams, as it’s a whole sales and support system designed to set your sales soaring this summer, say the firm.

Their Gelato Lusso range offers 14 enticing flavours including Cookie Dough Biscotti, Raspberry Cheesecake and Lemon & Lime. However, it’s the sales packaging that really sets this range apart, feel Suncream, who have devised some appealing branding with a strong artisanal feel, and that flows across the branded freezer range, ice cream tubs, pavement signs and menus. This, combined with the highly visually attractive presentation, means operators should have everything they need to deliver luxurious, blissful ice cream to their customers who will be tempted to come back time and again this summer.

Made with fresh milk and cream, the robot-filled tubs are hand dressed and finished with sauces, ripples, fruits, beautiful inclusions and toppings. The range also includes popular classics such as Bourbon Vanilla and Mint Cioccolato, and contemporary flavours such as Vegan Coconut and Passion Fruit and Amarena Cherry Ripple Fat Free Yoghurt.

The full point of sale package to support sales includes a range of branded freezers in a variety of sizes and styles, and branded marketing materials, many of which are free of charge.