KANSAS CITY — With warmer weather rapidly approaching, frozen novelties are filling the freezer aisles.
In the 2022 ice cream and frozen novelties survey conducted by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), 84% of consumers surveyed reported they prefer to buy ice cream at a grocery store and eat it at home, with ice cream cones being the best-selling novelty. Despite cones being reported as a best-seller, recent introductions feature bar and pop novelties.
Better-for-you brand Halo Top debuted a line of frozen yogurt pops, which feature Icelandic-style skyr yogurt, granola and berries. The recent introduction is an extension of the company’s fruit pop line, which launched two years ago.
“Our fans know and love our ice creams and other frozen dessert options, but we wanted to give them a go-to snack for any time of day that brings all the indulgence of Halo Top plus a burst of protein and flavor,” said Pete Gargula, Halo Top brand manager. “An Icelandic skyr-style frozen yogurt pop was the perfect solution. It’s creamy, it’s hearty, and you can feel good about grabbing one at any time of day.”
Other companies like Blue Bunny have expanded their product lineup with the introduction of miniature bars. The mini bars combine swirls of flavor with a cookie crunch coating to create a convenient, snack-sized bar. Initial flavors available include vanilla caramel crunch, chocolate cookie crumble and strawberry shortcake.
Across the industry, non-dairy ice cream is increasing in popularity, according to the report from the IDFA. GoodPop is taking advantage of the increasing popularity and debuted a line of oat milk-based fudge bars, which come in four varieties: fudge and vanilla crunch, double chocolate fudge, fudge and caramel crunch and mint and fudge chip.
“We love reinventing classic nostalgic favorites with better-for-you ingredients, which means they have a much shorter, cleaner ingredient list and are allergen-friendly, but without sacrificing taste,” said Daniel Goetz, chief executive officer and founder of GoodPop. “With our new frozen dessert bars, we saw an opportunity to recreate another range of classic ice cream favorites with better ingredients that are delicious and good for both people and the planet.”
