Oppo Healthy Ice Cream Review

The Oppo brothers have an incredible story behind their brand and their ethos of providing affordable, healthy food to the nation is really inspiring. I was really excited to try their healthy ice cream as I had heard wonderful things about it!

Oppo was developed in 2011 by brothers Charlie and Harry after an adventure in exotic Brazil. They set themselves the challenge of breaking the world record for travelling by kite on land by using kite buggies to travel 1000km from the airport to a popular kitesurfing destination. During this challenge, the brothers lost a lot of their body weight through malnutrition but they stayed alive by eating the foods that grow naturally on Brazil's coastline, such as coconuts and wild super-fruits. This incredible experience inspired the brothers to create their own food using these ingredients and to make it indulgent and healthy all at the same time. 

Their hard work and determination paid off, and they soon found that their product - low sugar healthy ice cream - was in high demand! They are now stocked in over 1,000 stores nationwide and they have even had investment from tennis champion Andy Murray! Oppo comes in three delicious flavours - Madagascan Vanilla, Salted Caramel, and Mint Choc Swirl.

Madagascan Vanilla

Each oppo ice cream flavour is made from fresh milk, cold pressed virgin coconut oil, and stevia leaf for sweetness. Stevia is a healthy, plant-based sweetener which is becoming a popular replacement for sugar. Stevia has several scientifically proven health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and stabilising blood sugar levels. The Madagascan vanilla flavour includes a hint of the African baobab fruit which also has many health benefits! Not only does it add a subtle tang to the flavour, it is also a rich source of vitamin C which boosts the immune system and contributes to better energy levels. This simple flavour is the perfect accompaniment to a raw cacao brownie.

Salted Caramel

Salted caramel is enjoying huge popularity in the food industry at the moment, so it's great that Oppo has developed a healthy option for this great flavour! 100ml (2 scoops) of this flavour contains only 75 calories which is fantastically low for an ice cream, along with 3.9g of fat, 6.6g of carbs, and 3g of protein, meaning the macro split is fantastic. The secret to Oppo's Salted Caramel flavour is the Peruvian lucuma fruit, which is rich in nutrients such as beta-carotene, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, calcium, and protein. It has a maple-like taste which makes it perfect for this flavour combination in ice cream.

Mint Choc Swirl

The mint choc swirl was definitely my favourite flavour! It's always been my favourite ice cream flavour, and now that there's a healthy version it's ideal! The secret ingredient in this flavour is spirulina, which is big in the fitness world as it provides such a high percentage of protein per 100g. Oppo source their spirulina from the South China Sea continuing the theme of interesting and exotic ingredients.

Verdict

I am incredibly impressed by Oppo's history and ethos. They are hugely concerned with the obesity crisis in the UK and believe it is partly down to low sugar foods being too expensive, which is why they are petitioning the government to lower the VAT on healthy foods from the usual 20% to only 5%. I am personally in total agreement with this, and I love their selfless ethos. The boys have developed three fantastic ice cream flavours which can confidently boast being not only healthy but delicious too! They make great accompaniments for other tasty desserts, or just to be eaten on their own. The only thing I would say is that the flavours are fairly plain (I like my ice cream to have different ingredient textures and various sauces and crunchy bits running throughout). It's a 9 from me!