Comelle launches the Soft Serve Forecast 2026, a trends guide revealing the latest soft serve, shake and dessert innovations for Spring / Summer
Soft Serve’s Next Chapter: The Trends Helping Operators Boost Prices by Up to 280%
The UK soft serve market is booming, now worth £1.6bn1, with 70% of consumers enjoying ice cream and soft serve out-of-home at least once a month2, and sales growing year-on-year. A new industry trends guide from Comelle, The Soft Serve Forecast 2026, highlights the flavours, formats, and experiences set to reshape soft serve, shakes, and frozen desserts across the UK.
Designed for out-of-home operators, the forecast is being released in two seasonal bursts. The first Spring/Summer guide offers practical inspiration for menus in the hottest months, when sales of soft serve and ice cream are often an essential revenue stream for operators. A follow-up Autumn/Winter edition will explore trends during the colder months, which is becoming an increasingly popular time for consumers to head indoors and seek out desserts and shakes as mini-indulgences.
With innovative flavours and toppings increasing potential soft serve selling prices by up to 150% in parlours and casual dining, and up to 280% in restaurants – without adding complexity to the kitchen – the guide is an essential for businesses looking to capitalise on the soft serve boom in the year ahead.
SPRING/SUMMER 2026: KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR OPERATORS
- Flavours to explore: Hyper-seasonal fruits, including gooseberries, rhubarb and peaches, sour citrus and adventurous global-inspired flavours, nostalgic 90s-inspired options
- Formats to trial: Mini portions, soft serve flights, tasting platters and trays, limited-time specials
- Experience-led toppings: Oversized marshmallows, chewy textures, signature sauces, overdressed cups and reveal domes
- Daring Drinks: Soft serve in shakes, floats, bubble tea, tea lattes and cocktails
- Healthy indulgence & sustainability: Incorporate nutritious ‘functional’ ingredients like turmeric, protein powder, nuts and seeds, fruits and yoghurt, or upcycle ingredients for playful toppings
What’s next for soft serve?
Once associated solely with 99 Flakes and children-focused cones, soft serve has become a premium, globally inspired, and highly-personalised experience. Consumers now expect bold and adventurous flavours alongside familiar favourites.
Hyper-seasonal fruits such as gooseberries, rhubarb, and peaches are appearing alongside tropical staples like mango and passionfruit, while sour notes – from lime and grapefruit to tamarind – are adding excitement and novelty.
Sweet-and-salty combinations are also on the rise – think salted vanilla sweetcorn, miso almonds, and pickled pineapple – challenging operators to rethink traditional flavour boundaries. Nostalgic 90s-inspired flavours such as bubblegum, red velvet, and tutti frutti are gaining traction with adults seeking indulgence and childhood memories, often enhanced with cereal toppings like Lucky Charms, Pop-Tart crumbs, or Cheerios.
Operators are also innovating with presentation and texture to create memorable, shareable experiences. Multi-sensory serves featuring chewy gummies, boba balls and marshmallow fluff are increasingly popular, while ‘reveal domes’ and overdressed cups allow for dramatic, Instagram-ready presentation.
Diverse carriers, including trays, cookies, and even taco shells, enable experimentation with portion size, sharing formats, and playful menu offerings. Soft serve is now influencing the drinks category too, appearing in shakes, ‘dirty sodas’, floats, tea lattes, bubble tea and even cocktails, creating opportunities for premium, indulgent drinking experiences in the beverage space too.
Sustainability and creativity intersect with upcycled ingredients, transforming broken cones, past-their-best pastries, or dried fruit into visually striking, flavourful toppings. Meanwhile, mini portions, tasting flights, and limited-time specials tap into the growing ‘snackification’ trend, encouraging customers to try more, share, and return for new experiences.
The report highlights the growing importance of ‘micromoments’, small, experience-led occasions that go beyond simply eating. Soft serve is increasingly being used to create a sense of occasion at moments that matter to customers, from families looking for an after-school treat, to friends sharing dessert formats, or visitors at festivals and attractions. Limited-time serves and themed formats are proving particularly effective, allowing operators to tap into emotion and nostalgia.
This shift is also changing when soft serve is consumed. With more adults seeking informal, cost-effective and flexible ways to socialise, soft serve is becoming part of evening food culture, replacing the need for traditional three-course dining with indulgent, experience-driven treats enjoyed later in the day across cafés, pubs, and casual hospitality venues.
Lakeland Dairies’ Head of Food, Paul Jennings said: “Soft serve is no longer just a quick treat solely from an ice cream van – it’s a premium, playful, and profitable category. Operators who embrace these trends can delight customers, differentiate their offer, and capitalise on a market that’s bigger and bolder than ever.”
He continued: “We’re delighted to be launching our first ever trends forecast in two seasonal releases, giving the inside scoop on flavours, formats and experiences that resonate with today’s diners. We hope our 2026 insights will serve as inspiration for operators who are willing to step outside the box and offer something a little different.”
Comelle, which is offers a range of soft serve and shake mixes, is part of Lakeland Dairies, a 100% farmer-owned Irish dairy cooperative, with over 130 years of history rooted in natural and sustainable production.
To download the trends forecast visit: https://marketing.lakelanddairies.com/comelle-soft-serve-forecast
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