When temperatures creep towards 40C as they have been this week(!), only one thing properly takes the edge off a muggy, sticky, long day… Ice cream, of course! And whatever your fancy (lolly? cone? one scoop, or two?) our latest deep dive Ice Cream report has something for you - because the ice cream and gelato category is full of flavour, format and texture innovation.
In fact, if this year's trends are to be believed - then texture is king, when it comes to ice cream. Where crunch is concerned, cornflake is all the rage - but biting at its heels are nuts, potato crisps and kataifi - the latter being used to create more-ish, frozen twists on baklava and Dubai chocolate. But there's so much more than crunch in the texture stakes - think chunky cake inclusions, hard choc shells around a frozen soft serve, and even multi-textural 'no rules' creations. Soft serve sundae with jam, whipped cream, meringues AND brownie bites included? Why not!
Not to be outdone buy texture innovations, though - flavours and format twists also abound. For instance Asian influences continue to dominate, from matcha to ube. So too do dessert-inspired drops - from ice cream-filled cannoli to carrot cake scoops. And save room for all manner of nostalgic riffs, from ice cream sandos to PB&J ripple.
Fancy finding out more? Then check out our full foodwatching Ice Cream 2026 trends roundup, live on TrendHub now.
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