WHEN THE ICE CREAM MAN BECOMES A "PSYCHOLOGIST": HERE ARE THE "PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES" OF ICE CREAM FANS, ACCORDING TO THE "ANTICA GELATERIA DEL CORSO" SURVEY- FROM THE "SUPER SWEET TOOTH FANS WHO EAT ALL FLAVORS" TO THE "NOT VERY INTERESTED"...

Who would have ever thought that eating ice cream could reveal one’s personality? A study of 1.400 Italians on social networks, blogs and community forums, sponsored by “Antica Gelateria del Corso” identified seven psychological profiles. The “Super sweet tooth” fan eats ice cream all year round and in all flavors (hazelnut in particular) and is active, dynamic and romantic. The “Fruit and Dessert” fans are defined as reliable, witty and have good taste. Then there are the “Tutti Frutti” fans: simple, generous and cheerful, The “Elaborate Sweet tooth” fans are mainly women with a higher average level of education, love of tradition, sociable and extrovert (taste favorites are tiramisu and affogato al caffè [drowned in coffee]).

The “W white” fans instead, like vanilla, coconut and such, and are on average young, cute and curious. The “Coffee fans” are mostly men, and are serious and rational, but also passionate and resourceful. And then there are the “Not too interested” who do not particularly like ice cream: average age over 65, they prefer the more traditional flavors, from hazelnut to lemon. In other words, there’s something for all tastes. There is only one cross-category, the super sweet tooth. 





Focus – “Psychological” profile of the “Super sweet tooth all flavors”
They reside mostly in the South, in small towns, have a medium-high cultural level and the average age is 25-34. The super gourmets love to eat ice cream at the bar, even when it’s not hot, said 59% of respondents. They appreciate 31 flavors out of 33 (classic flavors), but 8 out of 10 have a weakness for hazelnut, dark chocolate and truffles. Even the percentages of chocolate kiss and coffee flavors are high: 83% and 81% respectively. 7 of 10 fans prefer the taste of fruit and the most popular flavor is pineapple. The gourmet “all flavors” fan is defined as having high self-esteem in 78% of cases, active and dynamic (79%) and romantic and dreamers, 76%. Eight out of ten consider themselves happy and witty (77%), of course, gourmet (68%), but also educated (62%), creative (54%) and ambitious (48%). “Fruit and Dessert”. They are mostly people who live in the North East (Triveneto), with an average age of 35-44. They are often married with children (in 44% of cases children between 6 and 10 years old). More than 8 out of 10 love eating ice cream in the company of family and friends, especially at home. The absolute favorite flavor is chocolate chip (84%), followed by tiramisu (81%) and chocolate kiss, 74%. The most appreciated fruit flavors are Sicilian lemon and wild strawberries, both with 43%. The “fruit and dessert” fans in 91% of cases are serious and reliable, witty (85%) and have good taste (81%), but also romantic (66%) and conservative (51%). “Tutti frutti” fans live mostly in central Italy, in cities of under 10.000 inhabitants. They have a medium to low cultural level, and range in age from 25 to 34. 86% of cases prefer to eat ice cream in company at home, compared to 56% that eat ice cream out of the home, in company. Of course the fruit flavors are the top choice: first of all strawberry, 86%, followed by peach, 82% and lemon, 74%. 8 out of 10 consider themselves simple people, serious and lovers of good things. While 7 out of 10 consider themselves to be generous, cheerful (65%), active (59%) and dynamic (55%). “Elaborate Sweet tooth” fans are mostly women (62%) around 35-54 years old. They have a medium level of education, average standard of living and they live in cities of fewer than 10.000 inhabitants. The “Elaborate sweet tooth” likes eating ice cream in company, in 47% of cases at the bar, while 83% prefer eating it at home. The favorite flavors are tiramisù, affogato al caffè, 88%; chocolate chip 82%; nougat (81%), trifle (76%) and chocolate kiss (73%). Nine out of ten consider themselves serious and reliable, while more than 83% considered themselves simple and lovers of tradition, or sociable (71%) and outgoing (63%), educated and having good taste (54%). “W White” fans are between 14 and 34 years old, residents in the north, a medium-high cultural level, with families and children ranging from 0 to 5 years. More than 7 out of 10 love milk chocolate, whipped cream, white truffle, coconut and vanilla. They prefer to eat ice cream out of the home, in good company. 9 out of 10 say they are lovers of good things, nice (82%), happy (77%) and witty (69%). 79% said they love to have fun, while 74% are curious and interested in new things. “Coffee fans” are mostly men who live in the Triveneto area, with a high standard of living and a high cultural level. They have 11-17 year olds in the family and love to eat ice cream in company, both at home (84%) and outside (62%). Of course, the absolute favorite flavors in 82% of cases are affogato al caffé and coffee, followed by chocolate chip, 84%, tiramisu (79%) and dark chocolate (74%). They consider themselves rational and serious (81%), and also passionate (78%) and adventurous (67%). ”Not too interested”. They live in medium to large cities, have a medium to low cultural level and are between 65 and 79 years old. They do not particularly like eating ice cream. Their favorite flavors are hazelnut, with 33% of the vote, lemon (24%), wild fruits (21%) or chocolate chip (19%). The “not too interested” fan is serious and reliable, 64%, sociable and outgoing in 57% of cases, but also has good taste (54%) and health-conscious (52%).