Consumers increasingly view ice cream as a dessert

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 05. 14. 12:05

According to meteorologists, we can prepare for another hot summer, which will also mark the start of the ice cream season. Auchan experts believe that ice cream consumption is also showing an increasing trend outside the peak season. Customers are not only looking at ice cream as a cooling treat, but also increasingly as a dessert in the fall and winter. Of course, summer is a peak season for this product category. The taste is the most important factor in choosing, followed by the price and the purpose of the purchase.

“The classic vanilla and chocolate are undisputed, and strawberry and caramel are also popular. Customers also like mixed flavors and are happy to try new ones,” says Attila Nagy, Sales Director of Auchan Hungary. “We are preparing more than 300 types of ice cream for this summer, including new flavors such as lemon-raspberry, banana, cactus, yuzu-lemon, but there will also be ice cream with tongue coloring, which will give children an extra experience. Nearly a third of our selection will be new products compared to last year!”

In addition to the new flavors, free and vegan products will play a prominent role in Auchan’s selection, of which there will be nearly 30 types. Among them, the exclusively plant-based (cashew, oat, soy) Valsoia Vegan IL GELATO products are only available in Auchan hypermarkets, but there will also be chocolate oat drink and cranberry cashew drink-based sandwich ice cream. 20 types of added sugar-free ice creams are on offer, because the demand for them is noticeably increasing. New this year are the products of the Nick’s brand, which are also only distributed in Auchan hypermarkets, and which are made without added sugar and palm oil. Both brands have been available in Auchan stores since the end of April.

Full Naturals ice creams are available again, which are artisanal products made exclusively from quality, controlled ingredients, without milk, added beet sugar, gluten, soy, eggs, palm oil, preservatives and additives. They contain 100% natural ingredients and do not contain any allergens.

As for packaging: family and multipacks remain the most popular, but this year, due to the ice cream parlors in the confectionery, we can also expect an increase in sales of the so-called impulse category – i.e. multipacks with sticks and funnels, small ice creams – because home ice cream is experiencing a renaissance.