High-protein, low-calorie ice creams are HOT

With chalky taste a thing of the past, we’ll all be screaming for these treats

Summer is the height of ice-cream season, but now lovers of frozen desserts are being told they can lick away with less guilt.

A bevy of new brands has created a segment that didn’t really exist until earlier this decade, ice creams that not only come billed as lower-calorie, but high-protein as well.

High- or added-protein claims were featured on 10 percent of all ice-cream launches in the 12 months ending in June – up from 2 percent during the same period the previous year, according to global market research firm Mintel.

Starting with an independent brand called Halo Top that came along in 2012, the new high-protein desserts are considered a clear advance, Mintel analyst Alex Beckett said. They moved in on the unsatisfying, sometimes chalky-tasting light, low-calorie, low-fat ice creams of the past. For dieters, the calorie-count differences were startling. A pint of Halo Top vanilla bean has 280 calories and 20 grams of protein, while Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean has 1,080 calories and 16 grams of protein.

“What Halo Top did was prove there’s a place for pleasure, indulgence and fun in better-for-you ice cream,” Beckett said. “They’ve restored the equilibrium.”

To make the new concoctions, the process involves removing fat and most sugar from conventional ice cream. Stevia or another sweetener is added to return that sugary taste. Changing the ratio is what ramps up protein content.

ONE PINT OF HALO TOP VANILLA BEAN HAS 280 CALORIES AND 20 GRAMS OF PROTEIN HÄAGEN-DAZS VANILLA BEAN HAS 1,080 CALORIES AND 16 GRAMS OF PROTEIN

Total ice cream sales in the U.S. for the year ending in June were $6.78 billion, according to consumer data company Nielsen. GETTY IMAGES Halo Top put “pleasure, indulgence and fun in better-foryou ice cream,” Mintel analyst Alex Beckett says.

HALO TOP