The Summer Of Chocolate: How The Industry Is Chilling Out With Ice Cream And Chilled Treats
Chocolate manufacturers are increasingly drawing inspiration from the frozen dessert aisle, translating beloved ice cream flavors and chilled treats into premium, shelf-stable confectionery. This movement is fueled by a consumer demand for multi-sensory experiences and a penchant for "newstalgia," a blend of nostalgic comfort and innovative twists. The trend encompasses a wide range of flavor profiles, from classic favorites to more complex, multi-layered offerings and brands are demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of how to deconstruct and reconstruct these cool experiences in a chocolate format.
Examples of how brands are capitalizing on this trend include:
Flavor translation and reinvention: Brands are reimagining iconic ice cream and chilled beverage flavor combinations as chocolate bonbons and bars. Christopher Elbow Chocolates' Ice Cream Chocolate Collection with its Spumoni, Mint Chip, Caramel Cone, and Cookies & Cream bonbons serves as an interesting example. The Spumoni bonbon is a sophisticated take on the classic ice cream flavor, featuring cherry fruit pâte and pistachio white chocolate ganache enrobed in white chocolate. The Caramel Cone bonbon evokes the experience of a waffle cone with its silky vanilla bean caramel layered with house-made waffle cone praline. Mint Chip has cacao nibs with fresh mint white chocolate ganache, while Cookies & Cream features a white chocolate ganache layered with crunchy chocolate cookies. Similarly, Lindt Japan's Lindor Neapolitan is a direct nod to the three-color ice cream, combining vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavors in its signature truffle format. Meanwhile, Cadbury UK took a slightly different approach, focusing on a chilled beverage with its new Iced Latte Bar, extending its iconic Dairy Milk line with a flavor synonymous with café culture and cool drinks.
Experiential and multi-sensory offerings: Beyond flavor, brands are innovating with temperature and texture to create an authentic, cool experience. Patchi Lebanon's Ice Cream Bonbons for instance, designed as "bite-sized treats crafted with natural flavors & hand-dipped in a thin layer of our signature dark chocolate, mimics the familiar crunch of a chocolate-dipped ice cream bar. Brands like Godiva and Bittersweet Violet go further by explicitly positioning their products to be served chilled or frozen. Godiva's Summer Collection 2025 is marketed as a chilled chocolate collection with Godiva, in some cases, offering suggestions for three distinct consumption experiences: "frozen – for a firm, snappy bite," "chilled – for a cool, creamy melt," and "ambient – for soft, full-bodied indulgence."
Strategic brand collaborations: Cross-brand partnerships that leverage existing consumer trust and brand equity is another strategy. A notable example is See's Candies' collaboration with McConnell's Fine Ice Creams, which marries See's Candies' popular flavors like Milk Bordeaux™ and Peanut Butter Patties directly into McConnell's ice cream. This collaboration allows both companies to capitalize on each other's brand loyalty and expand their reach. Godiva and Labubu, another standout partnership, saw the launch of limited-edition character-themed ice cream and milkshake collections, leveraging on growing consumer interest in East Asian flavors and IP.
Product extensions and new formats: Chocolate brands are also entering the ice cream category directly. KitKat Malaysia launched a Dark Ice Cream product featuring a dark chocolate shell made with Bornean cocoa. Meanwhile Lindt introduced Dubai Styl Ice Cream across select markets including Germany.