Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s Ice Cream Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest ice cream market research, trends and consumer behaviours affecting your business. Get a 360° view of the market including ice cream market size UK, share and forecasted growth to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Topics Analysed in this Report
- Key new product development and ice cream market trends.
- Breakdown of consumption and frequency of ice cream, including key demographics segmentation.
- Factors influencing the purchase of ice cream, including the role of brands and low price.
- Explores consumer behaviour and attitudes including opportunities to tap into nostalgia.
UK Ice Cream Market Overview
The UK ice cream market has been hit by cutbacks amid the income squeeze, like many discretionary items. The boost it gained as a treat for evenings in has fallen short of offsetting that. The UK ice cream market should see improving real incomes support volume growth and facilitate trading up.
- Ice cream brands market share: Magnum retains a strong lead in the handheld ice cream segment and sold £235 million in value sales in 2022-23.
Ice Cream Market Trends and Opportunities
Tap into at-home socialising
Many people have looked to at-home socialising as an affordable alternative to going out to eat or drink. Visual wow-factor is a key element for products to win favour in at-home gatherings, with high interest in visually appealing ready-made foods among hosts. Tie-ups with other products offer routes for brands to put their products in aspiring hosts’ paths.
- Ice cream market trends statistics: 46% of consumers who eat ice cream often serve it to guests.
Focus on quality and treat image
The income squeeze has dialled up the threat from own-brand to ice cream brands. Branded ice cream’s image as more of a treat than own-label is a key factor drawing buyers to brands. This reaffirms the crucial importance for brands of continuing to foster an aspirational and treat image to combat the threat from own-label.
- Ice cream market trends figures: 2 in 3 people who eat ice cream see themselves as rather eating less ice cream than compromising on quality.
Purchase our UK Ice Cream Market Report to receive a five-year forecast, consumer behaviour analysis, and recommendations for market opportunities. Readers of this report may also be interested in our The Future of Ice Cream 2023, or our range of Ice Cream Market Research.
Brands Featured in the Full Report
Magnum, Cornetto, Rowntree, Twister, Cadburys, Calippo, Little Moons, Mars, Häagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s, Mackie’s, Walls.
Expert Insights from a Mintel Analyst
This report, written by Yogita Burke, a leading research analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight UK ice cream market trends and add expert context to the numbers.
Improving household finances will support growth ahead. However, the decline of ice cream’s core family audience poses a threat and a need to engage older groups.
Yogita Burke
Cross-category Research Analyst
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- Key issues covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the ice cream market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: UK retail value and volume sales of ice cream, by segment, 2021-23
- Graph 2: leading brands’ value sales in the retail ice cream handheld singles and multipack market, 2020/21-2022/23
- Graph 3: leading brands’ value sales in the retail ice cream tubs and blocks market, 2020/21-2022/23
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: usage of ice cream in the last three months, by type, 2023
- Graph 5: factors influencing purchase when choosing ice cream as a treat for oneself, 2023
- Graph 6: behaviours towards ice cream, 2023
- Graph 7: attitudes towards ice cream, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
- Graph 8: ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurts, by leading brands, 2019-23
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 9: retail volume sales of ice cream, 2018-23
- Graph 10: retail value sales of ice cream, 2018-23
- Market forecast
- Graph 11: retail value and volume sales of ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt, 2009-14
- Market segmentation
- Graph 12: UK retail value and volume sales of ice cream, by segment, 2021-23
- Market share
- Graph 13: leading brands’ value sales in the retail ice cream handheld singles and multipack market, 2020/21-2022/23
- Graph 14: leading brands’ value sales in the retail ice cream tubs and blocks market, 2020/21-2022/23
- Macroeconomic factors
- Graph 15: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 16: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 17: CPIH annual rate, edible ices and ice cream, and all food, 2019-23
- Graph 18: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2023
- Graph 19: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 20: the financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 21: total hours of sunshine, by season, 2018-23
- Graph 22: how often people try to eat healthily, 2018-22
- Graph 23: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2018-28
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Usage of ice cream
- Graph 24: usage of ice cream in the last three months, by type, 2023
- Graph 25: frequency of ice cream usage, by age and presence of children, 2023
- Graph 26: frequency of eating ice cream, by financial situation, 2023
- Factors influencing purchase of ice cream
- Graph 27: factors influencing purchase when choosing ice cream as a treat for oneself, 2023
- Graph 28: factors that influence consumers who would rather eat less ice cream than compromise on quality when choosing to buy one ice cream product over another to treat themselves, 2023
- Behaviours related to ice cream
- Graph 29: behaviours towards ice cream, 2023
- Graph 30: eating/serving ice cream on evenings in and at-home social gatherings, by age, 2023
- Attitudes towards ice cream
- Graph 31: attitudes towards ice cream, 2023
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Graph 32: product launches in the ice cream market, by category, 2019-23
- Graph 33: proportion of launches carrying low/no/reduced fat, sugar and calorie claims, 2019-23
- Graph 34: product launches in the ice cream market, by selected format type, 2019-23
- Graph 35: product launches in the ice cream market, by selected textures, 2019-23
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Graph 36: total ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurts, 2020-23
- Graph 37: total ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurts, by main media type,2020-23
- Graph 38: ATL, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurts, by leading brands, 2019-23
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Brand Research
- Graph 39: key metrics for selected brands in the ice cream market, 2023
- Graph 40: attitudes towards selected brands in the ice cream market, 2023
- Graph 41: brand personality – macro image of selected brands in the ice cream market, 2023
- Graph 42: brand personality – micro image of selected brands in the ice cream market, 2023
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Appendix
- Supplementary data: social, environmental and legal factors
- Supplementary data: advertising spend
- Supplementary data: segment performance
- Supplementary data: market share
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
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