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24 Jul 2024

Strawberry Cornetto vs supermarket own-brand ice creams

Cheaper strawberry ice cream cones scooped the top spot in our blind taste test

Jane Darling

If you're partial to a strawberry Cornetto, it's worth knowing we've found three excellent budget buys from supermarkets that can save you money and still deliver on taste.

We asked a panel of 68 ice cream lovers to blind-taste and rate strawberry Cornettos alongside eight supermarket cones including those from Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Asda, Lidl and Morrisons cones were the top crowd-pleasers, while Wall's Cornetto and frozen food specialist Iceland's came last overall.

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Best strawberry ice cream cones

It was a three-way tie at the top, with Asda, Lidl and Morrisons' offerings rated as the tastiest cones.

Lidl is the cheapest of the three. Its cone is less than half the price of Cornetto (per 100ml) and each individual ice cream is bigger, too.

Our pricing investigation found prices for popular branded ice creams have increased by up to 38% in the past few years, so it's a good time to switch if you're looking to cut costs.

Best Buy and Great Value: Lidl Bon Gelati Ice Cream Cones, 77%

£1.99 for six 120ml ice creams (33p per cone)

Lidl’s cones were a hit with our tasters, and they're the best value too.

The majority thought they were the perfect level of creamy and sweet, had a good amount of strawberry sauce and the flavour was just right.

Some thought the cone could be crunchier though.

Available from Lidl.

Best Buy: Asda Strawberry Ice Cream Cones, 77%

£1.50 for four 110ml ice creams (38p per cone)

Another great option.

Most tasters felt the sweetness of the ice cream, the amount of strawberry sauce and the texture of the cone were all top-notch.

These cones were also rated highly for their creamy ice cream and tangy strawberry flavour.

Available from Asda.

Best Buy: Morrisons Strawberry Ice Cream Cones, 77%

£1.50 for four 110ml ice creams (38p per cone)

These cones were also great all-rounders, with the texture of the cone getting the thumbs up from an impressive 90% of tasters.

Most also thought the amount of strawberry sauce and its flavour was excellent, and that the ice cream had the right level of creaminess and sweetness.

These well-liked cones are a little pricier than Lidl’s, but are well worth picking up if you shop in Morrisons or are particularly picky about your cones.

Available from Morrisons.

Stock up your freezer with other taste test winners, including fish fingers, roast potatoes and veggie burgers

How Cornetto, Aldi, Tesco and other strawberry ice cream cones compare

Sainsbury’s and Tesco's cones weren't far behind our Best Buys, while Aldi's also put in a good showing. Wall's Cornetto and Iceland's offering were joint least liked of all the cones. Here are the full rankings:

Sainsbury’s Strawberry & Vanilla Cones – 75%. Tasters praised the texture of the cone, the ice cream’s sweetness and the amount of strawberry sauce. But a quarter wanted the strawberry flavour to be stronger. £1.25 for four 110ml ice creams (31p per cone). Available from Sainsbury’s.
Tesco Strawberry & Vanilla Cones – 75%. A reasonable all-rounder with a good-textured cone. A third wanted the sauce to have more flavour. £1.65 for four 110ml ice creams (41p per cone). Available from Tesco.
Aldi Gianni's Strawberry & Vanilla Ice Cream Cones – 74%. Most liked the creaminess and sweetness of the ice cream and the strawberry flavour. But tasters thought the cone was too soft and a third wanted more strawberry sauce. £1.25 for four 110ml ice creams (31p per cone). Available from Aldi.
Cornetto Strawberry – 65%. Less than half were happy with the amount of strawberry sauce and the majority said its flavour was too weak. A third wanted the ice cream to be creamier and a quarter said it lacked sweetness. £3.75 for six 90ml ice creams (63p per cone). Available from Amazon, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
Iceland Strawberry and Vanilla Cones – 65%. Joint last, alongside Cornetto. Nearly two thirds found the texture of the cone too soft. Tasters also thought the ice cream wasn't as creamy as others, and the flavour of the strawberry sauce was too weak. £1.29 for six 90ml ice creams (22p per cone). Available from Iceland.

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What's in a strawberry ice cream cone?

It won’t be a surprise to learn that these ice creams are high in sugar. On average they contain 24g per 100g.

Aldi and Lidl cones contain the most per 100g, while Iceland’s cones just sneak in below the NHS threshold for a high-sugar food. A large Lidl cone will supply nearly five teaspoons of sugar, while the smaller Iceland cone has about three.

If you're watching your intake, be aware that all the ice creams are also high in saturated fat. Lidl’s are also the only cones on test to contain palm oil.

Most of the cones are available as four 110ml cones per pack. Exceptions are Cornetto and Iceland which both have six smaller (90ml) cones in a box. Lidl also has six cones, but they are larger (120ml).

Are there vegan Cornettos?

Yes, you can get vegan vanilla Cornettos, which also have a gluten-free cone (£3.50 for 4 - 88p per cone - from Asda, Ocado, Tesco and Sainsbury's).

Wall's doesn't do a strawberry flavoured vegan Cornetto, but some of the supermarkets do own-brand ones, including Aldi, Asda (£2.50 for 4) and Tesco (£2.70 for 4).

All are pricier than the standard versions.

See all our taste test results, including the best gins and best extra virgin olive oil in our round-up of the best supermarket food and drink

How we tested strawberry ice cream cones

The ice cream cones were tested in June 2024 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume ice cream.

The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK.

Each strawberry ice cream was assessed by 68 people. The tasters rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each and told us what they liked and disliked about each one.

The taste test was blind, so our testers didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they tasted the ice creams was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each person had a private booth, so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score was based on: