Frozen - ice cream 2025: Pre-spinoff Magnum sees bumper year

By the time you read this, Unilever will have most likely completed the spinoff of its ice cream arm The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

The move, which was slightly delayed in the autumn due to the US government shutdown, follows a bumper year for the now standalone business’ eponymous brand.

Magnum’s handheld ice creams raked in an extra £38m – the biggest absolute gain in the category – after the March launch of a “multisensory” OOH campaign that broadcast the “unmistakable sound of its signature chocolate crack” to car radios as they passed the brand’s billboards.

In ice cream tubs, it was Häagen-Dazs that made the most cash. It’s worth £10.8m more than last year – a sterling performance that was largely down to excellent summer weather. Those warmer temperatures drove Brits to reach for an extra 12.3 million litres of ice cream overall. Volumes of handheld rose 5.4% while tubs grew 1.8%.

Branded lines were the winners, easily outpacing own label in both ice cream formats. “Shoppers may feel authorised to trade up when the weather is good,” says NIQ insights analyst Youko Fujino.

It wasn’t just the biggest brands that benefited either. Smaller players also cashed in. Booja Booja, for instance, entered the top 20 with a value gain of 45.5%. Remeo Gelato’s growth was at a similar level: 46.3%.

Booja Booja was buoyed by the likes of new listings in Morrisons and M&S and a strong marketing plan with Waitrose, its largest retailer. Brits’ increased attention to ingredients has also broadened the brand’s appeal beyond its vegan and free-from heartland.

“With ultra-processed foods being in the media spotlight a lot recently, there has been a marked increase in the demand for foods that not only taste delicious but are made with ‘kitchen cupboard’ ingredients that people recognise and understand,” says Booja Booja sales manager Faye Holland.

Remeo Gelato capitalised on “the spike in popularity for gelato”, says Greg Ovenden, brand director at owner Brand of Brothers. “We have won listings, but success is also due to the platform we’ve given to Remeo. Consumers are looking for quality, and Remeo Gelato gives them exactly this.”