Unilever's ice cream spin-off Magnum pushes AI fridges, Asia flavours

Magnum, the world's largest publicly listed ice cream maker, is betting on AI-equipped freezers and Asian-inspired flavours to hold off competition from Froneri, Baskin-Robbins and a wave of artisan brands. The company, spun off from Unilever last year, owns Cornetto, Twister, Solero and the Magnum line itself.

The innovation push comes as the industry navigates five years of cost shocks. "We've had five years of price volatility impacted by war in Ukraine, Covid, the cost of living crisis. We've now got the Strait of Hormuz. We've just been in this constant state of instability when it comes to pricing," said Georgia Rose, principal analyst at Kantar Retail IQ.

Those costs hit multiple points in the supply chain. "Manufacturers have been hit by higher prices for dairy, cream, eggs; the ingredients that make ice-cream bases. And then you've got the flavours; vanilla, chocolate, sugar, fruit. And something that often gets forgotten is the cold-chain energy costs and storage," Rose said.

Magnum owns roughly three million freezers globally, built by third parties. Some now carry cameras that upload images to data centres. AI identifies each product and uses depth-recognition to estimate how many units have sold and when a fridge needs restocking. The result is less empty shelf space and more targeted supply.

Energy efficiency is another front. "If you look at the freezers we had in 2010, the ones we have now are 40% more efficient," said Zbigniew Lewicki, Magnum's chief research, design and innovation officer. "Will we ever be able to absorb every shock? I can't say, but it's definitely one way of making the business long-term resilient."

Asia as the innovation engine

Lewicki said the company's product inspiration increasingly comes from the East. "The inspiration and trends come from the East. There's an incredible intensity of innovation in places like Japan, Korea and China and the markets are growing and expanding in a phenomenal way."

One result is Volcanics, a bar with a chocolate shell, biscuit pieces, layered chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and a caramel lava centre that Lewicki called "four dimensional." It has launched in the UK and Europe.

Shanghai-based researcher Neil Yan of MMR said ice cream has moved beyond a seasonal treat in China. "In China, ice cream is no longer a niche story. It's not just for Instagram. It's not just a summer treat. It's a new centre of gravity, representing a part of Chinese people's lifestyle."

Flavour experimentation in Asia has pushed boundaries. "We have ham, pickled garlic, tahini, and stinky tofu and liquor. Just below my office is a shop whose speciality is vodka, foie gras and apple in one scoop," Yan said. "The reason why people are so excited and so experimental is basically the ability to think beyond just the flavours that have been offered by the Western market for the past two or three decades."

Protein and the GLP-1 effect

Innovation is not limited to flavour. Mintel associate director Honorata Jarocka pointed to protein-enriched ice cream as a rising category. "It's not only about building your muscles, it's more about satiety because with the GLP1 user movement, people are drawn to products that are more filling. Protein is really an important factor and ice-cream is a great place to use that."

David Protein sells a 12-pack of bars with 20g of protein each for $39.99, more than double the price of Magnum's Yasso frozen yoghurt bars. Jarocka said consumers are choosing "high quality, smaller portions, and are able to maybe pay a bit more for products with extra benefits because they are spending less on grocery items overall."

Back in Bedford, Magnum's R&D centre uses a robot named Eric to test chocolate viscosity around the clock, aiming for the perfect crunch on every bar. The company's Alpha Score from AlphaScala sits at 56 out of 100, a Moderate label in the Consumer Staples sector.

A glow-in-the-dark lolly, launched in Ibiza and aimed at clubbers, uses naturally luminescent vitamin B2. Lewicki said the product targets festival-goers who want something that glows under UV club lights.