Icelanders' unusual love for ice cream drives rapid innovation in the market

Icelanders are an exceptionally ice cream-loving nation, a passion that transcends seasons and weather conditions. Whether on a cold winter evening or a warm summer day, queues often form outside ice cream parlors, demonstrating a constant readiness to explore novel and surprising flavor combinations.

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We are an unusually ice cream-loving nation.

This consumer enthusiasm has spurred rapid product development at Kjörís, a prominent Icelandic ice cream company. Elías Þór Þorvarðarson, sales and marketing manager at Kjörís, notes that the company has never produced as many new items as it has in the past two years. The market has become significantly more interactive, with social media playing a transformative role in how the company operates and innovates.

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We have never produced as many new items as in the last two years.

Social media platforms have become a crucial source of inspiration for Kjörís. Daily suggestions, requests, and discussions from consumers often lead to the creation of new products within months. This continuous dialogue allows the company to quickly identify consumer desires, often refining existing concepts rather than inventing entirely new ones. For instance, a strawberry soft-serve was introduced after repeated customer inquiries, mirroring the availability of vanilla and chocolate options.

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The market has become a much more active participant in the development work than before, and social media has completely changed how we work.

Kjörís has also seen success with its "Mjúkís Italian style" soft-serve, featuring authentic, richer chocolate. The company recently launched new ice cream bars under the Mjúkís brand, designed to be softer and lighter than previous versions. These bars aim to enhance the overall experience, allowing the chocolate and crumble components to be more prominent. The new bars include "classic" (vanilla with dark chocolate), "almond" (vanilla, dark chocolate, and almonds), and "white" (vanilla with white chocolate and 'cadaife,' an Arabic sweet).

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We are in constant dialogue with consumers and quickly find out what people are asking for. Often, we are not reinventing the wheel but simply listening to what people want.