The frozen dessert world is evolving, and ice cream with fruits is leading the charge. As consumers seek freshness, natural sweetness, and clean ingredients, manufacturers are turning to real fruit purées to deliver flavor, nutrition, and creamy texture that stand out. At AFP, we’re excited to bring this innovation to CONECON 2025, happening November 9–11 at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida — the coolest event in the frozen dessert world.
Why CONECON 2025 Matters for Ice Cream Makers
CONECON is where frozen dessert dreams come to life. Whether you churn ice cream, swirl soft serve, or develop frozen fruit ice cream for global brands, this event gathers professionals who shape the industry’s future. From hands-on workshops and product showcases to thrilling competitions, CONECON is where inspiration meets community — and AFP will be there to share how fruit purées elevate frozen dessert recipes with consistency and clean ingredients.
For manufacturers exploring new frozen treat concepts — from strawberry to peach ice cream — the event offers insight on dairy alternatives, equipment, and formulations that enhance efficiency from freezer to scoops of ice cream.
Fruit Ice Cream as a Category of Growth
The market for fruit ice cream continues to grow globally. Flavors like blackberry ice cream, mangoes, pineapple, and blueberries are capturing a generation of consumers who prefer authentic flavor and natural sweetness over artificial syrups. Fruit purées allow brands to keep sugar levels under control while maintaining rich taste and balanced carbohydrates.
The rise of fresh fruit ice cream also reflects a broader shift: consumers want to see ingredients they recognize. For ice cream makers, this means every recipe starts with real fruit as the foundation, not flavoring compounds.
Inside the Ice Cream Maker’s Kitchen
Every innovation begins in the kitchen. Behind every ice cream maker or ice cream machine lies a process that combines artistry and science. In test labs and pilot kitchens, developers use a blender or food processor to evaluate fruit-to-base ratios before scaling up to industrial production.
AFP purées simplify that work. Their smooth consistency and seedless finish integrate easily into any formulation, reducing processing time while maintaining stable flavor. For both artisanal and industrial makers, this means fewer adjustments and more reliable results.
Why Homemade Ice Cream Inspires Innovation
While industrial technology drives scale, homemade ice cream traditions continue to inspire new product launches. Makers still value simple ingredients — heavy cream, nuts, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream bases that remind consumers of authenticity. Those same principles guide AFP’s approach: helping professionals replicate that great recipe feeling on a larger scale.
By blending tradition with innovation, ice cream makers can transform classic desserts into products that feel both premium and familiar, appealing to modern taste buds while maintaining efficiency.
How Fruits Improve Ice Cream Nutrition and Balance
Adding fruit to frozen desserts improves nutrition facts and overall nutrition information. Real fruits provide vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants that enrich standard dairy bases. They also balance carbohydrates and reduce dependence on added sugar by introducing natural sweetness.
Fruit purées help maintain the ideal fat-to-acid ratio in ice cream base formulations, creating a creamy texture even in lower-fat options. For consumers checking labels, seeing fruits such as blueberries, peaches, and blackberries listed as primary ingredients reinforces brand trust and supports health-conscious purchasing.
A Fresh Perspective on Ingredients
AFP’s Aseptic Fruit Purées offer producers stability, yield, and the advantage of a clean label. Whether used to make any frozen treat, purées guarantee consistent color, flavor, and nutritional value across all batches.
Our goal is to support the ice cream industry with ingredients that matter — from frozen fruit bases to vibrant fresh fruit blends that turn traditional ice cream into something truly fruity and modern.
Recipe Innovation in Frozen Treats
Today’s ice cream recipe development focuses on authenticity and efficiency. Producers experiment with banana, peach ice cream, and watermelon ice cream variations to create refreshing dessert experiences for all seasons. Using AFP purées in a blender or food processor allows small-batch testing before scaling up, ensuring reproducibility in industrial runs.
When making gelato, sorbets, or ice cream, AFP recommends using 2–3 lb of fruit purée per gallon of ice cream base as a reference and starting point. The optimal amount depends on the intensity of each fruit:
- High-intensity fruits such as lemon or passion fruit deliver strong, tart flavors with 1.5–2.0 lb per gallon of ice cream base.
- Medium fruits like strawberry, mango, or raspberry work best around 2.0–2.5 lb per gallon, providing balanced sweetness and aroma.
- Mild fruits such as banana, papaya, or pear require 2.5–3.0 lb per gallon to achieve a more defined flavor profile.
These guidelines help developers fine-tune intensity without compromising creamy texture or process efficiency. AFP’s Aseptic Fruit Purées make this process simple — their consistent quality and smooth finish guarantee reliable results from test batches to industrial production, ensuring uniform color, flavor, and aroma across thousands of servings.
Nutrition, Flavor, and Modern Consumers
Modern consumers don’t just eat for taste; they read the label. That’s why balancing nutrition and indulgence is key. Ice cream with fresh fruit communicates honesty and craft, while fruit purées maintain sweetness and creamy texture without artificial ingredients. AFP’s purées deliver the same flavor intensity batch after batch, making quality measurable and repeatable.
This reliability is especially valuable for global brands that must standardize desserts across regions and climates.
Why Community and Collaboration Matter
As proud supporters of the North American Ice Cream Association (NAICA), AFP believes innovation grows through collaboration. NAICA connects ice cream makers, suppliers, and educators to strengthen the frozen dessert community.
CONECON embodies this same spirit — a place where ice cream with fruits meets creativity. The event encourages networking and shared learning, where the next breakthrough recipe or product idea might start as a casual conversation between innovators.
AFP’s Contribution to Fruit Innovation
For AFP, fruit purées represent more than just ingredients — they’re tools for creativity. Our aseptic packaging ensures 18-month stability without refrigeration, and our portfolio includes strawberry, mangoes, pineapple, raspberry, cherries, and blackberry options that inspire every ice cream maker’s kitchen.
By reducing waste, preserving nutrition information, and maintaining flavor consistency, AFP empowers producers to deliver excellence from pilot batches to full-scale manufacturing.
See You at CONECON 2025
CONECON 2025 is more than a tradeshow — it’s an invitation to connect, innovate, and celebrate ice cream with fruits. At AFP, we look forward to meeting the frozen dessert community in West Palm Beach to share how fruit purées turn everyday formulations into extraordinary frozen experiences.
🍓 AFP — Supporting Ice Cream Innovation with Ingredients that Matter.