Summer 2025 is turning nostalgic old-school ice lollies are back and better than ever, and not just for kids! From the UK to the US, these throwback treats have been reappearing in freezers and giving us all those childhood feel-good memories. From Wham! bar-inspired lollies to Rainbow Drops on a stick (who remembers these?), the 80s and 90s are back in style and they’re not alone. Solero tubs are selling out – yup we said tubs not sticks google it.

According to Mintel, over 60% of Gen Z consumers say they actively seek nostalgic flavours. And it’s not just Gen Z. Millennials and Gen X are also buying into it, hunting for a taste of their youth. Now You are probably wondering why does that matter to you in the ice cream diary world?? Well let’s take a look at which ones are coming back and the numbers:

Retro Reboots: What’s Back on the Shelves?

• Wham! Ice Lollies  a tangy tribute to the iconic chewy bar. Recently relaunched at Iceland, they’re flying off shelves.
• Rainbow Drops & Fruit-tella once pocket-money staples, now reinvented as freezer favourites.
• Solero Tubs we know them as being on the stick but the remix version is a silky, nostalgic twist on the 90s classic in a tub format so you can indulge as much as you want
• Viennetta discontinued in some markets, is now back this wavy ice cream cake is back with force and now also available in stick format (although these are classed as “dupes”)
• Opal Fruits Lollies they’re not Starburst here they’re retro royalty.
• Bomb Pops for all our US colleagues and customers, this ones for you. It’s a patriotic, ice‑cold delight across the Atlantic and climbing back up nostalgia charts and back – have you seen it?

These throwback launches aren’t just gimmicks. They’re backed by big numbers. Global demand for ice lollies continues to rise, with Mintel reporting the UK hand-held ice cream sector valued at £740M in 2022 and growing.

And with school holidays now in full swing, we can see this increasing!

Let’s be honest  every generation has its ice cream icon. The 80s gave us the OG Viennetta. The 90s were the golden age of Solero, Feast, and Cornetto Cool. And the 2000s? The Magnum ruled supreme, kicking off a new era of indulgence.

For manufacturers, this nostalgia isn’t just a vibe, it’s a business opportunity. Whether you’re a small-batch producer experimenting with flavours or scaling up a full summer range, Machinery World can help with:

• Ice-lolly moulders & popsicle machines for retro-shapes
• Batch or continuous freezers for small to large production or seasonal batches
• Flexibility to pivot between novelty flavours and formats

Retro is cool again… and we’ve got the machine to match.

1. https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.uk/channels/convenience-and-forecourts/latest-news/npds-2025.html
2. https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/27166056/ice-lollies-based-on-childhood-sweet/
3. https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/unilever-adds-haribo-solero-twister-cornetto-and-carte-dor-ice-creams/702419.article
4. https://www.foodrepublic.com/1759550/whatever-happened-viennetta-ice-cream-cake-us/
5. https://insights.mondelezinternationalfoodservice.com/ice-cream-offers-a-nostalgic-platform-for-innovation-2025
6. https://admin.jordanexportportal.gov.jo/storage/9c34b873-72f4-490f-af0e-428a35e06efc.pdf