Why was Nic’s taste loved, but its meaning fragmented?

Nic had the right ingredients to win- stellar product reviews, a food-tech edge, and a rapidly growing portfolio. But with 75 flavours marketed in isolation, the brand started to feel like a collection of mini-brands rather than one unified name. Different people had different ideas of what Nic was, depending on their favourite flavour. Without a strong identity, Nic risked misattribution, being mistaken for competitors, or worse, being enjoyed in the moment but forgotten later.

And in food delivery, ice cream accounted for just 5% of all dessert orders, signalling untapped headroom if Nic could capture habitual, go-to moments.

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We ran dessert mapping, taste tests and brand concept tests, then analysed occasions and codes to see where meaning fractured.

Mispronunciation (“N-I-C”) led to misattribution and weak recall. The core promise needed refining people wanted taste first, not purity cues. Its flavour cues were underplayed, so richness surprised only after the first bite. Most premium ice-cream brands, including Nic, over-indexed on solo indulgence, a category trope that clashed with how ice cream is usually shared. And most mass ice-cream brands were trying to find space amongst sweets during big celebrations, but ice creams make little sense in those moments. Ice-creams shine in the relaxed, post-occasion moment, and we found a perfect little space for Nic to settle in.