National Australia Bank : Summer sentiment’s sweet for Timboon Fine Ice Cream

Timboon Fine Ice Cream is poised to make the most of trends in consumer behaviour this summer.

Tim Marwood and Caroline Simmons started out making ice cream on their dairy farm more than 20 years ago. Now they run a destination ice-creamery in the tiny town of Timboon and their products are sold at stores around the country.

During the global pandemic, Tim and Caroline also diversified and established stylish 'tiny homes' for people to come and stay and sample all the food destinations along the Timboon food and rail trail.

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Ana Marinkovic, NAB Executive for Small Business said Timboon Fine Ice-cream was a great example of the ingenuity of our small businesses in Australia which NAB was proud to support.

"This ice-cream and accommodation business is now poised to make the most of some key trends that we're seeing.

"NAB research out today shows that people are expecting to spend more on holidays and they have a greater focus on Australian-made products," Ana said.

Tim said despite the many curve-balls that the global pandemic had thrown at businesses, he was feeling optimistic about the Summer ahead.

"We find our visitors are looking for genuine experiences and genuine interactions. Local produce is of course the hero, but visitors wish to connect with locals too," he said.

Consumers are prioritising locally made Australian products. Summer confidence

The NAB Consumer Stress Index, released on December 1, fell to 55.5 pts in Q3 2021 (from 57.8 in Q2 & well below the survey average 59.0), as concerns eased, particularly those around funding retirement and health.

Against the background of lower consumer stress, expectations around major household purchases over the next year were also more positive.

"With COVID travel restrictions starting to loosen, not surprisingly there was a large jump in the share of consumers expecting to spend more on holidays," said Ana.

Consumers are also prioritising locally made Australian products. While value for money continues to be a key factor affecting buying behaviours, sustainability and ethics have gained further prominence since COVID.

"The shift towards more conscious consumerism is here to stay," Ana said.

Feature image above: A young customer enjoys sampling Timboon Fine Ice Cream's product.