Independent British brand Jude’s is set to expand its range from October with the introduction of two new vegan oat-based ice creams. The new flavours are Vanilla Bean, made with Madagascan bourbon vanilla, and Salted Caramel, which contains both salted caramel swirl and cinder toffee pieces with more to follow in 2020.

According to Jude’s, in the past a family-run business serving small-batch dairy ice cream, the brand has launched the new vegan range to “cater to those looking to reduce their environmental footprint.” A study conducted by the University of Oxford* found that out of the milk alternatives, oat milk has one of the lowest environmental impacts (in terms of emissions, land use and water use), which Jude’s believes makes it the perfect base for the new range.

Managing director Chow Mezger commented: “We are excited to launch this indulgent range of vegan ice creams, so that Jude’s can be enjoyed by more people. We have been supplying many of the UK’s best restaurants with vegan ice cream for a number of years and have been inundated with requests for this to be available more widely to be enjoyed at home. This is an exciting time for us as an ice cream maker. We’re finding more and more that consumers are open to a whole new world of possibilities as they start to think differently about their food.”

The vegan launch follows a number of NPD releases for the brand: Jude’s released a new range of ready-to-drink, premium milkshakes in June this year, aiming to provide a flavour experience that ‘isn’t too sweet’ for consumers. And in April, the ice cream brand tried its hand at healthy ice lollies, with a range of fruit and veg rocket lollies for kids.

Jude’s new vegan oat-based range has an RRP of £4.50.