Taste of summer? IKEA serves up plant-based ice cream

Flatpack furniture giant IKEA is serving up vegan strawberry ice cream on its Bistro menus at UK stores from today, as part of its ongoing drive to cut the carbon footprint of its catering.

IKEA, which has already introduced vegetarian meatballs and hotdogs, said the plant-based ice cream has almost half the carbon footprint of a traditional dairy ice cream.

Commercial manager of IKEA's food service division Sandra Lindh said the aim was to create a plant-based treat that was "as soft, airy and delicious as our popular dairy-based soft ice".

"It's an easy, affordable and delicious treat for customers that either need or want to skip dairy products and prefer plant-based food options," she said.

The meat and dairy industry is on track to become the world's biggest single contributor to climate change in the coming decades. Earlier this year scientists came together to release a "planetary health diet", featuring less dairy and meat, which they said would keep people healthier and help avert dangerous climate change.

Over the coming months, IKEA said it will be working on more flavours for IKEA Bistros in markets around the world, taking into account "customers' taste buds in different regions of the world".

The furniture group is not the only consumer brand to latch on to the vegan food trend. From beef processors to electricity suppliers, companies from across the economy are muscling in to try and meet the surge in demand for plant-based products.