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Iceland’s chicken drumstick ice cream: Do novelty products really work?

Iceland Foods has launched an ice cream that looks like a chicken drumstick. Fun innovation or food flop? We asked two brand experts for their verdict.

British supermarket Iceland Foods recently launched a single-serve ice cream product designed to look like a chicken drumstick.

Falling into the renowned pastry discipline “trompe-l'oeil”, where cake products are designed to look exactly like something else, the supermarket chain's Not Fried Chicken ice cream features waffle cone ice cream, a cornflake coating, and a chocolate-covered pretzel in the centre designed to resemble a chicken bone.

Retailing for £4, the ice cream is garnering a lot of attention across social media platforms in the UK, notably TikTok. But can a product like this really go the distance? Will it secure repeat purchases or be viewed as a one-off gimmick?

Cake or fake? Ice cream chicken is ‘a dream for social media’

“What Iceland has done here is remind the entire industry of something we sometimes forget: that food is allowed to be joyful,” said Vhari Russell, marketing expert and founder of The Food Marketing Experts. “In a landscape dominated by conversations about health, sustainability, cost of living and reformulation, a chicken drumstick that's actually ice cream is a breath of fresh air.”

Helga Hertsig-Lavocah, futurologist and founder of trend forecasting agency Hint Futurology, agreed: “It's all part of small treats and escapism, which we desperately need in a world that for many feels out of control.”

Hertsig-Lavocah said this is a low-risk innovation for Iceland Foods, given the product holds “intergenerational” appeal and is “cheaper than a fancy viral iced coffee”.

“This ticks all the boxes: it's a dream for social media, puts new eyeballs on Iceland, and it's a low investment/risk for the brand and consumer,” she said. The product also taps into the “cake or fake” movement that many consumers are already familiar with and that brands worldwide have long been invested in, particularly in Japan, she said.

‘There will always be value in hype’

Importantly, Hertsig-Lavocah said this launch creates attention and earned media value (EMV) for Iceland Foods. “It keeps Iceland top of mind, so there will always be value in hype.”

Russell agreed the launch certainly draws attention to Iceland Foods; important given the retailer competes in a crowded, price-sensitive market where “cut-through is everything”.

“I think it's genuinely brilliant marketing from Iceland. A product that looks exactly like a chicken drumstick but is actually ice cream? That's the kind of idea that stops you mid-scroll, makes you laugh, and crucially makes you want to share it immediately. Which is exactly what happened. The fact that it went viral on TikTok tells you everything you need to know about whether it worked.”

Iceland Foods also likely wanted to draw in a younger audience and reposition as a “fun, culturally relevant brand”, she said.

The 'halo effect' of viral food launches

Russell said smart food innovations from UK retailers is certainly a space to watch.

“Iceland and M&S [Marks & Spencer] are quietly becoming the two most exciting retailers in the UK when it comes to creating products that grab attention and drive genuine footfall,” she said. M&S has been invested in viral food launches for years, from its light-up gin bottle, Colin the Caterpillar cake and various Percy Pig extensions – and Iceland Foods is now “increasingly playing the same game with real confidence”.

Both understand something that many retailers are still catching up with, the expert said. “A single viral product doesn't just sell itself; it brings people through the door who then fill their basket with everything else. The halo effect on the wider shop is enormous.”

Iceland Foods and M&S, she said, are “leading the way in demonstrating that fun is a genuine commercial strategy, not a shortcut”.

‘This is what bold, confident, consumer-first NPD looks like’

Whilst a chicken drumstick ice cream launch is fun, Russell said there is a “much more commercially sophisticated strategy at work here too”.

Average basket spend increases significantly when a novelty product pulls new or lapsed customers through the door, she said, because customers browse, discover, and buy.

“Iceland knows this. M&S knows this. It's one of the most powerful and underappreciated levers in retail, using a single headline product to monetise the entire visit,” she said.

“...Iceland and M&S are showing the rest of the industry what bold, confident, consumer-first product development looks like in 2026. They are proving that novelty, when it's done with genuine creativity and commercial intelligence, is not a gimmick; it's a growth strategy.

“It drives footfall, it builds baskets, it creates brand advocates and it makes people feel something at a time when most of us are largely numb to conventional advertising. More of this, please. The industry needs it,” Russell said.