Tony Lorman has joined Mars Chocolate UK as general manager of the ice cream category.

Lorman stepped into the newly created role last week, taking complete responsibility for the Mars ice cream category in the UK, reporting into the UK impulse sales director.

He has a wealth of experience in the fmcg sector, having spent almost 10 years working in the industry for companies including Northern Foods and Kellogg’s and joins from PepsiCo where he was account controller for Sainsbury’s.

Speaking about his appointment, Lorman said he was delighted to be joining Mars Ice Cream. “Mars has some of the most exciting and iconic brands in the industry and I am looking forward to bringing my experience to the portfolio,” he said.

“The newly created role provides a great opportunity to shape the long-term growth strategy for the ­ice cream category while ­working closely with both the UK and European teams.”

Mars has launched a number of ice cream products this year.

In March it launched a Milky Way Magic Stars stick and an M&M’s cone (rsp: 80p and £1.30 respectively). They were joined on-shelf by a “more caramel-flavoured and crunchier” version of Twix ice cream.

Lorman’s appointment is the latest in a string of new senior hires at the fmcg giant.

In June, former Cadbury man Jamie Dunning was named sales director for ­grocery, replacing David Bell who was poached by Findus.