Green tea and olive oil ice cream
Matcha tea ice cream may have been a surprising recent flavour hit with its not-very-sweet (although not-quite-savoury) flavour profile.
Smaller brands are getting on board this savoury trend – US company Lick launched a dark chocolate, olive oil and sea salt ice cream while Australian brand Two Fat Cows also uses extra virgin olive oil - however, Mintel research analyst James Thompson believes bigger manufacturers may be missing a trick.
“To date there appears no prominent examples of a leading consumer brand of savoury ice cream. For ice cream manufacturers, much of the innovation in the market is focussed on altering serving sizes, provenance of ingredients and making the product visually appealing for social media, but no significant strides have been made to stimulate the consumer palate in innovative ways,” writes Thompson in an online blog post.
“[This] lack of a recognisable brand of savoury flavoured ice cream seems a glaring omission on the part of the large brands.”
A 2014 survey by Amore di Gelato said the top ice cream flavours in restaurants and gastropubs around the UK included beetroot, Jersey black butter and stout.
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