The reason ice cream is so expensive now

No matter all the new flavours, hokey pokey ice cream will always be a nostalgic favourite. Photo / Unsplash

There was a time when ice cream felt endless. Two-litre tubs filled family freezers, scoops were piled high at the dairy, and hokey pokey was a national default. Now, a single scoop can cost more than a coffee and tubs seem to shrink between shops. The flavour list is longer, the price tag higher, and what we expect from ice cream has altered. How has ice cream changed from its 80s heyday to today, and why?

From simple scoop to statement flavour

In the 1980s, ice cream was uncomplicated. Flavours were few – hokey pokey, Neapolitan, orange choc chip, mint choc chip, goody goody gumdrops, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. The cones were big, the expectations small. Rachel Hunter fronted those Trumpet ads and summed it up perfectly: “It’s just not summer without one.”

Today, the freezer reads more like a dessert menu – roasted rhubarb crumble, miso caramel, feijoa cheesecake, black sesame with sea salt. Brands such as Duck Island, Appleby Farms and Island Gelato Co have turned ice cream into a craft product. The scoop that was once casual is now curated.

That’s the how. Ice cream has moved from mass-market treat to boutique indulgence, from a staple in the family freezer to something you line up for.

The economics of indulgence

The why starts with cost. According to Stats NZ’s food price index, dairy prices rose 4.6% in the year to June 2025, part of wider inflation in milk, cream and butter. Add higher costs for packaging, energy, freight and wages, and even a humble cone feels the pressure.

Manufacturers have adapted. The two-litre Tip Top tub, once standard, is now 1.6 litres – a change the company says reduces waste and fits smaller households. Premium “Creamy” ranges and limited editions have replaced plain vanilla family tubs. The market has split: budget bulk at one end, boutique pints at the other.

An IndexBox 2025 analysis found New Zealand’s import price for ice cream products has climbed more than 60% since 2016, pushing up costs for ingredients and packaging. Even locally made scoops are affected by global pressures.

So the short answer: ice cream didn’t suddenly get fancy, it got expensive to make.

The culture shift

The other half of the story is cultural. We’ve redefined what food means to us. Quantity has given way to quality, and convenience to curiosity. We still want nostalgia, but we also want provenance, innovation and “Instagrammable” flavours.

Boutique ice cream makers built their businesses on that curiosity. They use fresh cream, small-batch production and local ingredients. For consumers, it feels worth paying for – less an impulse buy, more a small luxury.

Social media has reinforced the trend. Ice cream became a photo opportunity, not just a treat. The same pattern has played out with coffee, chocolate and bread: we now spend more on less, but expect it to be better.

Are you a liquorice lover? This ice cream is for you. Photo / Babiche Martens

Make it yourself – recipes to try:

• Liquorice ice cream recipe.
• Crunchie bar ice cream recipe.
• Pistachio and rosewater ice cream recipe.
• Home-made tamarillo ice cream recipe.

The new idea of value

Kiwis haven’t stopped eating ice cream – far from it. We still rank among the world’s biggest consumers at around 21-22 litres per person a year, according to the International Dairy Federation. What’s changed is how we define value.

A Foodstuffs and Woolworths price scan shows a two-litre budget tub averages $5.50 (about 27c per 100ml), while boutique pints exceed $1.20 per 100ml. But the experience now matters as much as the price. Fewer people keep tubs in the freezer; more buy single scoops on hot days. Ice cream has become an occasion.

For those who still want thrift, it’s there – in multipacks, sandwiches or budget lines that quietly hold their ground. Yet even they’ve absorbed some of the same shift in design and flavour.

Ice cream has taken leaps and bounds in terms of flavour sophistication and Duck Island is a leader in the movement.

What it says about us

Ice cream’s evolution mirrors the way New Zealand eats. We’ve become more selective, more willing to pay for perceived quality, and more interested in food that tells a story. Rising costs and boutique culture simply accelerated a change already under way.

The result is a product that’s smaller, richer and more reflective of how we see ourselves – quality-focused, detail-driven and slightly nostalgic for when things were simpler.

Ice cream has changed because we have. It’s still the taste of summer, but it carries the hallmarks of a new era – fewer litres, more flavour, higher expectations. Prices may rise and tubs may shrink, but the ritual survives: the pause at the dairy freezer, the first cold bite, the quiet satisfaction that some things, even when they change, still do their job perfectly.

Herald contributor Nikki Birrell has worked in food and travel publishing for nearly 20 years. From managing your kitchen to cutting costs, she’s shared some helpful advice recently, including how to prep your barbecue for summer grilling, gourmet hacks for elevating budget ingredients and what toppings to choose for different crackers.