The inside scoop on ice cream innovation

In the summer heat, few things are more satisfying than a cooling ice cream. But did you ever wonder what it takes to make the scoop on your cone?

This traditional treat dates back centuries, but today many frozen desserts are the culmination of months of research and development.

On the outskirts of the Danish city Aarhus is what might be considered ice cream's answer to Silicon Valley.

Among a cluster of businesses, including dairy producers, engineers and service providers, is a manufacturing plant owned by food packaging giant Tetra Pak.

This place is also home to a product development centre where future recipes and technology are tested out.

"It's the first step in a long journey to having a product launched," says Elsebeth Baungaard, portfolio manager at Tetra Pak.

"We're testing what we will see on the market next summer or two years from now."

Inside the bright laboratory are steel vats, freezers and a machine turning out oval-shaped ice creams onto a conveyor belt.