Eco-Friendly Ice Cream

Clean the Sky - Positive Eco Trends & Breakthroughs

Unilever Develops Freeze-at-Home Ice Cream to Reduce Emissions

— August 24, 2009 — Eco
Wow! Ice cream might never be a guilt-free pleasure, but researchers are hoping to make the dairy indulgence better for the planet, if not our waistlines.

Unilever is developing a freeze-at-home low-carbon ice cream which it reckons will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The FMCG giant, the world’s largest producer of ice cream with brands that include Wall’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, hopes that a “low-carbon” product sold at room temperature and frozen at home will minimize environmental impact.

Ice cream is one of the company’s more energy-intensive products because of the need to keep it frozen during transport and storage.

Research is being undertaken in Unilever’s own laboratories with Cambridge University. Gavin Neath, Unilever’s senior vice-president for sustainability, told The Times: “We have to look at a really radical solution."

Trend Themes

  1. Freeze-at-home Ice Cream — Opportunity for developing low-carbon ice cream that can be frozen at home, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  2. Low-carbon Products — Disruptive innovation opportunity to create products that have minimal environmental impact, such as low-carbon ice cream.
  3. Energy-efficient Food Storage — Innovation potential to develop energy-efficient storage solutions for food products like ice cream, reducing energy consumption.

Industry Implications

  1. Food and Beverage — Industry can explore the development of eco-friendly food products, such as low-carbon ice cream, to meet consumer demand for sustainability.
  2. Frozen Food — Opportunity for the frozen food industry to adopt freeze-at-home solutions, reducing energy consumption in transportation and storage.
  3. Sustainability — Industry can focus on sustainable practices and develop innovative solutions, like low-carbon ice cream, to minimize environmental impact.
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