Companies are reinventing everyday brands to incorporate bold new ingredients in the style of some of the most successful ice cream chains.
No longer simply the domain of Cold Rock Ice Creamery and other dessert eateries, novelty ice creams are becoming the focus of a wider variety of everyday brands in supermarket fridges.
Häagen-Dazs, for example, which was re-launched in Australia by General Mills in March 2016, has established a strong foothold in the supermarket space of late. Lining the shelves in Coles, Woolworths and 7-Eleven are such varieties as Macadamia Nut Brittle, Caramel Biscuit & Cream, and Belgian Chocolate.
Each variety mimics the innovation of dessert chains – rather than remaining with the traditional classics.
Häagen-Dazs ice cream was first introduced to Australia in 1999, but it withdrew from the market five years later. In its first year of bringing the brand back, the company has secured almost one per cent of the overall grocery channel, according to General Mills.
Häagen-Dazs stakes its global footprint through grocery retailers and its own sit-down stores – but in Australia, Haagen-Dazs is confined to grocery for now.
General Mills Australasia managing director Peter Everett said the growing demand for luxury ice cream provided a strong opportunity for the brand.
“Australia is the third-largest ice-cream market per capita in the world, and with 35 per cent of Australians eating ice-cream at least once a week, we felt the time was right to reignite the love for the brand here,” Everett said.
“We’ve introduced exclusive Häagen-Dazs flavours with Coles, Woolworths and our new convenience channel partner, 7-Eleven, to help them differentiate their categories.”
From shortbread to cookie dough
The ice cream brand made for Coles – called Ultimate – has provided the opportunity for the retailer to innovate with novelty flavours.
There are four new flavours in its Ultimate range, which has been produced by NSW supplier Norco. Mint Choc Chip, Salted Caramel Fudge, Strawberry Shortbread and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough use fresh Australian cream and milk and no artificial colours and flavours, according to Coles.
The Mint Choc Chip variety blends mint-infused ice cream with dark chocolate ripple and choc-coated peppermint pieces; Salted Caramel Fudge combines salted caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream; the Strawberry Shortbread variety combines strawberry ripple with shortbread and blended with vanilla ice cream; and Peanut Butter Cookie Dough blends peanut butter ice cream with chunks of cookie dough.
The retailer has been working with Norco for over eight years on Coles-brand ice cream flavours, and each of the new 473ml varieties have a RRP of $6.
Desserts cross into ice cream
Bulla Family Dairy has increased its profile with a range of twists on classic ice cream flavours in the last 12 months, including a Fairy Bread and Custard Tart, and Apple Crumble sticks.
Its latest range of dessert-inspired sticks includes a frozen custard variety, which builds on the success of the Creamy Classics Frozen Custard tub which launched in September 2017.
Frozen Custard sticks are available in Classic Boysenberry and Choc Caramel Ripple, with a RRP of $7.99.
General manager of marketing and innovation Nick Hickford said creating ice creams that “celebrate the old with the new” has been the company’s focus in its Innovation Centre, which comprises a pilot plant and micro-lab for product trials and testing in Colac, Victoria.
