Human desires can be fickle when it comes to food. On the one hand, we know that we need to try and make healthier choices on a regular basis, but on the other, there are moments when it seems only an indulgent sweet treat will do. As we’ve explored previously at Sign Salad, the Permissible Indulgence space – where health and pleasure come together in glorious union – has been enjoying major growth in the past few years.

We need look no further than the freezer aisle to find one such innovation area that’s full of potential – frozen fruit snacks. While frozen fruit and juice have long been supermarket staples, more recently we’ve seen the emergence of ready-to-eat products that are riffing around the edges of health and taste, and seeking to engage a variety of consumers. Let’s take a moment to explore some of these brands, and how they’re communicating their appeal on the shelf.

Romantic Associations, Cool Pleasure

A Valentine’s Day staple, the chocolate-covered strawberry is ripe with romantic connotations (pun somewhat intended). The sensuous, red fruit enrobed (not merely coated, enrobed) in thick, rich chocolate speaks for itself – a bite-sized morsel of indulgence, with sensory contrasts built into the eating. It doesn’t hurt that the fruit at its heart brings a halo of health credentials, either.

Fresh chocolate-covered fruits are a perishable luxury, but frozen versions offer consumers the option of an indulgent snack, ready on demand.

One of the most successful players in this space has been trü frü. Founded in the US in 2017, the company was acquired by Mars in 2023 and has since gone international. Packs feature imagery of luscious, ripe fruit tumbling against a duck-egg blue background that wouldn’t look out of place on in a Bridgerton ballroom wall. trü frü takes care to embrace both health and indulgence cues – these are ‘Nature’s Strawberries’, ‘frozen fresh’ before coming to us ‘immersed’ in both white and milk chocolate.

trü frü’s latest commercial campaign ‘Down the Aisle’ makes its target consumer abundantly clear. A recent alum of US dating show The Bachelor, spokesperson Litia Garr is shown with a white dress and bouquet frolicking down the (freezer) aisle. The message is clear – who needs a white wedding when you can turn on the romance yourself with a healthy treat? Variants such as Piña Colada ring the changes, leaning into accessible cocktail culture.

Other brands in the frozen fruit space are drawing on traditional romance and indulgence cues. In the UK, Oppo Brothers and Hidden Fruits use traditional indicators of premiumness and indulgence such as rich gold colour accents and references to ‘milk Belgian chocolate’. Across Hidden Fruits’ social media, imagery juxtaposes fresh fruit on the vine with the finished product enjoyed by female consumers, an accompanying glass of prosecco in hand. These are fruity yet sophisticated treats, intended for a refined palate.

Fruity fun: it’s okay to play

Not all brands in the frozen fruit snacking space are taking such a grown-up stance, however. Take UK brand Froot Pops – not only does its phonetically-spelled name sound playful and fun, its pack design is reminiscent of nostalgic sweet wrappers or ice cream parlour signage. This is a product that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and its social media imagery is pitched to match. In a clean pastel-coloured interior, models pose in quirky, childlike outfits complete with bright yellow canvas shoes and big red glasses. One model reaches out from behind a sky blue curtain to grab a bag of Froot Pops with a novelty hand grabber, the strapline ‘bags of mischief’ appearing at bottom right. While fundamentally a similar proposition to trü frü and Hidden Fruits, Froot Pops is leaning into a more playful, accessible, everyday space.  

Taking even bolder strides into the arena of anarchic fun is US brand Fruit Riot. A departure from chocolate coatings, Fruit Riot offers frozen fruit with a sour candy coating, with frozen mango and pineapple recently joining the flagship offering of grapes. The brand’s packaging and visual identity design is a world away from the gentle, feminine sophistication of trü frü and Oppo, with its acid-green, bubble typography, rounded out with an exclamation mark against a background of saturated yellow. Back of pack copy is playful and conversational, asking

 ‘Is it fruit? Is it candy? Cruit? Frandy? Who gives a fruit?’.

However, besides its vibrant, eclectic design, Fruit Riot remains rooted in… well, fruit. Alongside the strapline ‘real fruit, unreal flavor’, the front of pack product description emphasises health credentials – these are ‘freshly frozen’ fruits, ‘splashed’ with lemon juice before receiving their sour candy coating. While looking similar to traditional sugary confectionery, Fruit Riot offers the feeling of fun and transgression for only 50 calories a serving – a proposition that is surely attractive to those looking to manage their weight, whether through traditional diet and exercise or with the assistance of newer methods such as GLP-1 agonists.

Tastes good, does good: spinning surplus bananas into gold

While the health qualities of frozen fruit snacks are ever important, there are also opportunities for brands to express their sustainability credentials. One brand leaning into this space is Pukpip, a UK company specialising in coated frozen banana treats. With bold, contemporary graphic design across its portfolio, Pukpip looks at home in the kids’ frozen treats section or the chiller cabinet at a high-end organic grocery. However, it is the brand’s sustainability messaging that sets it apart. Pukpip draws consumers’ attention to their use of ‘“perfectly imperfect” bananas, rescuing those rejected from export and upcycling them into our tasty frozen snacks’. In addition, their chocolate is described as ‘responsibly, ethically and sustainably sourced’; this is a brand seeking to offer its consumers not only a delicious moment of personal indulgence, but the feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’re doing the right thing by producers and the planet.

3 Key Takeaways for Brands:

  • Permissible Indulgence continues to drive growth: consumers want snacks that let them have it both ways: indulgent taste experiences with a healthy foundation. Frozen fruit snacks like trü frü tap into this by combining real fruit with traditionally indulgent coatings, delivering pleasurable moments without regret – the success of this category sits squarely in the health-meets-hedonism sweet spot.

  • Brands have licence to play: while established brands in the category have leaned into traditional indulgence and premium codes, others such as Fruit Riot and Froot Pops show that there is space for a more playful, anarchic approach.

  • Sustainability and ethical storytelling can build meaningful brand purpose: Pukpip’s upcycled bananas-to-riches story demonstrates that there remains scope for brands to appeals to consumers who seek not just taste and health, but consumption with purpose. For marketers, sustainability isn’t just a hygiene factor – it’s an important differentiator when communicated creatively.

Emily Porter-Salmon, Director

Berry Cool: The rise of frozen fruit snacks