Unilever is set to drive value into the impulse ice cream category with a £7m marketing investment.

From March 2017, Unilever will launch its ‘Talking Ice Cream’ marketing campaign to promote its new snacking range that has an RRP of 80p in a bid to tap into the under £1 on-the-go snacking opportunity.

The new range, which will include Wall’s Solero Strawberry Smoothie, Feast Sandwich and Wall’s Duo will be promoted through experiential and sampling activities as well as OOH, online and social media activity. Unilever will be launching the new Magnum Double Raspberry and Magnum Double Coconut (three pack RRP £3.69, single RRP £1.90) as part of the category drive too.

New POS materials are also being made available as well as snacking-specific secondary freezers. Unilever will also be launching a series of season starter promotions, providing new POS kits, cabinet and stock offers.

Both retailers with existing ice cream fixtures and those introducing them for the first time to their stores will benefit from significant savings when they purchase Wall’s freezer cabinets and ice cream from wholesalers.

Noel Clarke, vice president of brand building for refreshments and OOH sales for UK and Ireland at Unilever UK, said: “The total Ice Cream market in the UK is worth over £964m and we know that ice cream is a footfall generator as well as an impulse purchase. Therefore, as a business, we are committed to helping our partners unlock the sales opportunities the category presents. For example, 70% of ice cream purchasers buy other items in store, which is why we are investing significantly in attracting shoppers through OOH communication as well as providing retailers with the right tools in store to help maximise growth potential.”