The research was conducted on 2,000 respondents representative of the general UK population aged 16+ years who purchased ice cream/gelato/sorbet from independent or high street food outlets within the year prior to being questioned in June 2024.

Iced Insight identifies that 98% of the UK population have consumed ice cream out of home in the last year. According to the research 70% of consumers eat ice cream out of home at least once a month of more, with 25-34 and 35-44 year-olds eating ice cream out of home very regularly once a week at least.

Paul Ingram, managing director at Carpigiani UK, said: “The Carpigiani ‘Iced Insight’ report presents an extensive review of ice cream, sorbet and gelato consumption in the UK out of home market and allows us to deliver the ultimate factual resource to those in the hospitality industry wanting to know what ice cream means in foodservice today, and what it’s going to look like tomorrow. The research also provides insight into beverage consumption, capturing consumer buying behaviour of shakes and frozen drinks too.”

The majority of consumers (74%) eat traditional flavours of ice cream flavours like vanilla, strawberry or chocolate. According to the research men women eat Mr Whippy soft serve ice cream most often from a cone but men on average prefer a tub.

Most consumers (69%) are willing to pay more for ice cream they eat out of home when it has some form of premiumisation. Over a third (37%) are happy to pay more for ice cream that is made using fresh ingredients, like real fruit instead of a flavoured paste.

To download Carpigiani’s Iced Insight report, please visit: https://www.carpigiani.co.uk/iced-insight.