Appeal premium-tub ice creams has us licked

INFOGRAPHIC: Behind the surge in Australia's ice cream consumption that sees us each eat 18L a year. 

Ice cream trio

SWEET-toothed Australians are eating their way through 18 litres of ice cream every year and parents are behind a 25 per cent surge in sales this year.

And we like to keep it classy the fastest growing part of the $500 million market is premium-tub ice creams.

Adult flavours are helping boost sales with salted caramel, Madagascan vanilla bean and lamington to be launched in supermarkets next month.

Coles consumer communications manager Anna Kelly said that although vanilla still dominated four of the supermarket's five top-selling products, premium brands such as Connoisseur were making new offerings.

Its new flavours will be sold under the banner of the Australian Collection and will feature ingredients such as Kangaroo Island honey, Snowy Mountain blueberry, Derwent Valley raspberry and Murray River salt.

Connoisseur's marketing manager Alicia Munday said ice cream was seen as an affordable treat.

"Premium products have less overrun, less air, more cream and more expensive ingredients," Ms Munday said.

Connoisseur looked at ideas focusing on provenance and worked with well-known pastry chefs to try to find a point of difference for pernickety lickers.

"Connoisseur is all about sophistication, artistry and provenance, using quality ingredients. We wanted to be creative, but not too wacky."

Gelatissimo joint chief executive Dom Lopresti said unusual flavours such as Vegemite gelato were more about capturing imaginations than answering customer demand.

"You can't introduce too many weird and wacky flavours or you start to lose your identity," Mr Lopresti said.