Morelli's Ice Cream reveals the favourite flavours across Lurgan, Portadown and wider Co Armagh area

Morelli’s Ice Cream, the oldest ice cream producer in Ireland, has revealed that local lickers have their own preference when it comes to the most popular flavours.

With a number of outlets across the county, Morelli’s has discovered that while the majority of Northern Ireland’s sweet-treat fanatics are content with the classic comfort of Double Cream Vanilla, the people of Co Armagh have broken the mould and declared Honeycomb as their top choice.

According to the 2023 sales data, sweet-treat fanatics in Co Armagh put Double Cream Vanilla in second place and Mint Chop Chip in third.

Double Cream Vanilla and Honeycomb flavours accounted for 50 per cent of Morelli’s total sales across Northern Ireland.

Summer 2023 was a season of new flavours, which proved popular with ice cream connoisseurs. Morelli’s launched several new options, including Butterscotch and Cheeky Monkey (Chocolate Ice Cream with a Banana Ripple). One of its newest flavours, Toffee Popcorn, piqued the interests of many ice cream fans, with sales increasing by 12 per cent of the later part of the summer.

And the summer saw Morelli’s candyfloss-flavoured ice cream, Unicorn, edging Bubblegum out of the top 10 best-selling flavours of the year.

While everyone has their own personal ice-cream favourite, there is one thing everyone in Northern Ireland does agree on, and that’s that Sundays are for scoops. A high percentage of Morelli’s sales take place on a Sunday, more than any other day of the week.

Commenting on this year’s trends, Daniela Morelli-Kerr from Morelli’s Ice Cream said: “While traditional flavours like Honeycomb remain popular in Co Armagh, we’re seeing a real shift towards more modern flavours like Unicorn and Toffee-Popcorn. We believe this is being driven by social media trends and a desire for ice cream that not only tastes good but looks good too.

“There are many highlights of working in ice cream production, but a highlight for the Morelli’s team is the opportunity to create these weird and wonderful new flavours. While it’s these flavours that grab the headlines in the ice cream world, our sales data shows that we still have a soft spot for traditional flavours that are being enjoyed in tubs and cones across the country, mostly on a Sunday!”