Ice cream consumption preferences in Sullana, Peru

Abstract

Ice cream is one of the most consumed desserts worldwide and due to the high production of fruits such as camu camu, mango, and grapes in northern Peru, it is intended to introduce artisanal ice cream with these fruits in the market. This study was exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional. A questionnaire was applied to the population of Sullana, Peru. This report shows a relationship between consumers and non-consumers of ice cream according to gender (p=0.473), age (p=0.816), occupation (p=0.551) and willingness to pay (p=0.007). The results show that non-consumers buy ice cream for others. Consumers prefer handmade ice cream and served in a cup, they also prefer cookies, toffee, chocolate and fruits as toppings on ice cream. Most of the participants consume ice cream in all seasons of the year, on weekends and pay between 2.5 and 5 soles for the ice cream they buy. 36.8% prefer to consume ice cream in commercial establishments and 95.8% of the population would like the restaurant of their choice to offer artisan ice cream. These results provide ice cream manufacturers and local businesses with new insights into consumer preferences. In conclusion, the consumption of local products such as mango, camu camu, grape and avocado are important from a nutritional point of view to take advantage of their bioactive compounds, and from the producer's point of view can improve sales and product diversification through ice cream.