Ice cream has gotten expensive. A scoop of ice cream for 2 euros and more – that’s not uncommon in many cities.
Younger people ask why ice cream has become so expensive. For older people, memories are awakened when their parents handed them 30 pfennigs for the ice cream parlour.
But was a scoop of ice cream really cheaper in the past? A comparison of purchasing power, income and costs provides interesting insights. And the product “a scoop of ice cream” has also changed.
Ice cream has gotten expensive. In many cities, a ball sometimes costs two euros or even more. Ice cream used to be a lot cheaper! Was it really?
Anyone who buys a scoop at an ice cream parlor today likes to make the comparison: “Back then” an ice cream only cost 30 pfennigs. A portion for 1.50 or 2.00 euros puts more strain on the purse than a ball for 30 pfennigs did back then. But is that true? An approximation:
In the mid-1980s, a scoop of ice cream in many places in western Germany actually only cost 30 pfennigs. “Back then, ice cream was too cheap, they couldn’t have made big business,” says Gerhard Schenk, President of the German Confectioners’ Association, looking back. Today many prices are calculated harder, explains master confectioner Schenk.
In the meantime, a scoop of ice cream in large cities like Berlin or Munich costs around 2 euros at many ice cream parlors. The nationwide average was 1.46 euros per scoop in the last ice cream parlor comparison in 2021. That was before the latest wave of inflation. But is that really more expensive than the amount around four decades ago?
Yes! Ice cream is expensive, he says Purchasing Power Comparison
According to data from the Deutsche Bundesbank, the purchasing power of a D-Mark in 1985 corresponds to a purchasing power of around one euro in 2022. According to this comparison, a scoop of ice cream for 30 pfennigs in 1985 would be worth 30 cents today. That would be only a fifth of what a bullet cost on average in Germany in 2021.
But it’s not that simple. Because a number of other factors play a role.
On me! Ice cream scoops are bigger today too
Not only has the price increased, the balls have also gotten bigger – the portions are better, because often there are no balls at all. A ball of ice today weighs 80 to 100 grams, explains Annalisa Carnio. She is spokeswoman for the Association of Italian Ice Cream Makers in Germany. In the 1960s, the standard weight for a bullet was 25 to 30 grams.
You could “no longer sell these today”, confirms Gerhard Schenk: “A scoop of ice cream has to have a certain weight in order to be accepted on the market.” In other words: Customers want larger scoops of ice cream.
In addition, there is a trend that ice cream is spatulated or painted more than rolled. The classic ice cream scoop is still in use, especially in Germany, explains Carnio. The reason is the need of many Germans to reliably get the same amount for their money.
Over the years, however, the size of the single servings has doubled or tripled. That also explains part of the higher price.
And also the Wages went up
Overall, consumer prices rose 48 percent between 1991 and 2019, according to the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Wages and salaries rose by 60 percent in the same period. Since then, real wages have not risen any more, but on the contrary have actually fallen somewhat. Nevertheless, the wallet is not as heavily burdened when buying ice cream as it appears at first glance. This is also shown by another consideration:
One minute more work for an ice cream
An industrially produced popsicle – vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating – usually costs 2.70 euros today. The German Economic Institute (IW) has calculated that people in Germany will have to work 7 minutes and 27 seconds this year. 33 years ago, the same ice cream cost about two Deutschmarks. It took 6 minutes and 19 seconds to do this. Thanks to rising net wages, one can afford more than 30 years ago, analyzes IW purchasing power expert Christoph Schröder and adds: “Nevertheless, you have to work longer for the ice cream at the kiosk today than in 1990.” If only for a minute.
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Products in the ice drive up the price
In contrast to the freezer compartment in the supermarket, fresh products, if possible in organic quality, play a greater role in ice cream from the ice cream parlour. “The quality has increased significantly,” reports Gerhard Schenk. And better ingredients also cost more money.
The scoop from the ice cream parlor consists of up to 70 percent milk and almost ten percent cream, explains Uniteis, the association of Italian ice cream makers in Germany. “Does milk still taste like it did three years ago?” Asks Uniteis spokeswoman Carnio. As a result of the war in Ukraine, milk prices rose particularly sharply in 2022.
“I pay 60 percent more for sugar than last year, 40 percent for ice cream cones, over 100 percent for dextrose, and the locust bean gum binder costs me 250 percent more,” said ice cream parlor owner Davina Utz recently to “Spiegel”.
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Ice cream parlors: Higher wages, more requirements
The work in the ice cream parlors has changed over time. In the past, the entire family often worked there, mostly without pay, says Annalisa Carnio. Today that is no longer the case. Employees received higher wages through a collective bargaining agreement, and temporary workers also earned significantly more with the greatly increased minimum wage. The rents for the shops have risen and recently the electricity costs. “The idea that ice cream should be so dirt cheap is simply unrealistic,” says the spokeswoman for Uniteis.
There is not only milk and cream in every ice cream cone, but also a lot of bureaucracy, adds Gerhard Schenk. The President of the Confectioners’ Association thinks this is “madness”. Examples: The spatial requirements for making ice cream are immense. The temperature of every ice chest must be checked several times a day. Since everything has to be documented, it costs “time that has to be paid for”.
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