Melado makes dairy ice cream, so we have a side in this. Everything below is taken from Pakistani regulations and from published Competition Commission of Pakistan rulings, and the sources are listed at the bottom so you can check any of it yourself.
The two categories are legally different
Under PSQCA standard PS 969-2010 and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018, these are two separate products:
- Ice cream is made from milk, cream or other dairy ingredients. The fat in it is milk fat.
- Frozen dessert is made from a pasteurised mix that can include milk products and edible vegetable oils, usually palm oil.
Frozen dessert is a legal product. It is not adulterated and it is not unsafe. It is simply a different thing, made cheaper, and the law requires it to be labelled as what it is.
What the regulator found
In December 2024 the Competition Commission of Pakistan ruled on a complaint filed by Pakistan Fruit Juice Company, the maker of Hico. The complaint was that Unilever Pakistan and FrieslandCampina Engro were advertising frozen dessert products as ice cream on television and social media.
The Commission found that both companies had disseminated false and misleading information, and imposed Rs 75 million on each. Unilever received a further Rs 20 million for claiming its product was healthier than traditional dairy ice cream.
Both companies appealed. In January 2026 the Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld the finding but reduced the penalty on each company from Rs 75 million to Rs 15 million. In April 2026 the CCP confirmed recovery of Rs 35 million in total, and both companies were directed to stop presenting frozen desserts as ice cream and to correct their advertising.
That is the entire basis for this article. It is a matter of public record, not our opinion about anybody's product.
How to tell them apart in three seconds
Turn the pack over and read the fat. That single line settles it.
| What the pack says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Milk fat | Dairy ice cream |
| Vegetable fat or edible vegetable oil | Frozen dessert |
| Mango in the ingredients | Actual fruit |
| Mango flavour | A flavour compound, not fruit |
| Very bright pink strawberry | Colour, not fruit. Real strawberry is dull, almost grey-pink |
There is a second tell that has nothing to do with the label. Pick up two tubs of the same size. The heavier one has less air whipped into it. Air is called overrun in the trade, it costs the manufacturer nothing, and it is the quietest way to sell you less for the same money.
Where the main brands sit
The honest summary of the Pakistani market, based on published information rather than our own testing:
| Brand | Category | Sold as |
|---|---|---|
| Melado | Dairy ice cream | Scoop counters, 41 branches |
| Hico | Dairy ice cream | Tubs and parlours |
| Baskin Robbins | Dairy ice cream | Scoop counters |
| Sweet Creme | Scoop parlour | Scoop counters |
| Walls / Magnum (Unilever) | Frozen dessert (per CCP ruling) | Retail freezers |
| Omore (FrieslandCampina Engro) | Frozen dessert (per CCP ruling) | Retail freezers |
Two things worth saying plainly. Hico deserves credit here: it was Hico that took the case to the regulator, and the whole country now has a clearer market because of it. And Walls and Omore are not bad products. They are enormous, well distributed and consistent. The finding against them was about how they were described, not about whether they are worth eating.
What the same order costs at three counters
Below are the list prices from the online ordering sites of three scoop brands, captured on 21 August 2026 for delivery in Lahore. Two things to know before you read it. Sweet Creme is soft serve, which is a different product from hard scoop, so its cup is not a like-for-like swap. And Baskin Robbins was running a 20% discount at the time; the list price is shown here, because promotions come and go and list prices are what you compare.
| Melado | Sweet Creme | Baskin Robbins | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single scoop or cup | Rs 150 to 200 | Rs 240 to 340 (soft serve) | Rs 649 |
| Double scoop | Rs 300 to 400 | not on the menu | Rs 1,199 |
| Thick shake | Rs 490 to 590 | Rs 660 to 760 | Rs 1,199 |
| Sundae | not on the menu | Rs 560 to 620 | Rs 1,049 |
| Brownie with ice cream | Rs 390 | Rs 490 | Rs 1,599 |
| Molten lava with ice cream | Rs 490 | Rs 610 | not on the menu |
| Cheesecake, per slice | Rs 650 | Rs 540 | not on the menu |
| Cookie | Rs 275 | Rs 320 | not on the menu |
| Take-home, about 1 litre | Rs 1,240 to 1,699 | not on the menu | Rs 4,799 (quart) |
The pattern is consistent and worth saying plainly: Melado is the cheapest of the three on almost every line, and the gap is widest on take-home tubs, where a litre of Melado costs roughly a third of a Baskin Robbins quart.
There is one line where it goes the other way. Sweet Creme's cheesecake slice is Rs 540 against Melado's Rs 650. If cheesecake is what you came for, they are cheaper.
A price table only tells you half of anything, though. Baskin Robbins is an international brand with a flavour library nobody in Pakistan matches, and Sweet Creme has built a soft serve following since 2018 that speaks for itself. What the table does show is that premium dairy ice cream in Pakistan does not have to cost Rs 649 a scoop.
Method: prices read from sweetcreme.com.pk and shop.baskinrobbins.pk on 21 August 2026, Lahore delivery, list prices before any promotion. Melado prices are our own. Menus change, so check the current price before you order.
So does it actually matter?
It matters in two places. The first is the mouth. Palm oil melts differently from cream: it coats the palate and leaves a faintly waxy finish, and it is the reason a frozen dessert can taste flat by the third spoon while a dairy scoop does not.
The second is price. If two tubs cost the same and one is made with cream while the other is made with vegetable oil, you are paying dairy money for something cheaper to make. That was the CCP's point too.
Where Melado stands
Melado is dairy ice cream. Milk and cream in the base, real fruit in the fruit flavours and the popsicles, real chocolate in the chocolate ones. It is made in one central kitchen and moved to each branch on a cold chain, which is why a scoop tastes the same in Mingora as it does in Multan.
We are not going to claim it is the only real ice cream in Pakistan, because that would be the same kind of overreach this whole article is about. Hico and Baskin Robbins are dairy too. What we will say is that the category on the label is a fact you can check, and it is worth checking whoever you buy from.
If you want to see what that adds up to, the flavours and rates are on the menu page, the full breakdown is in the Melado price list, and there is more on reading a pack in what "natural" actually means on an ice cream label.
- Competition Commission of Pakistan, press release
- Dawn: Frozen dessert makers fined for mislabelling ice cream
- Business Recorder: CCP imposes penalties on two frozen dessert makers
- ProPakistani: Tribunal upholds CCP action
- PSQCA standard PS 969-2010 and Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018
Last reviewed August 2026. We will update this page if the rulings or the labelling rules change.
Common questions
Is Walls ice cream or frozen dessert in Pakistan?
The Competition Commission of Pakistan ruled in 2024 that Unilever Pakistan had presented frozen dessert products as ice cream in its advertising, and the Competition Appellate Tribunal upheld that finding in January 2026. The category for any individual pack is printed on the pack itself, so check the fat line: milk fat means ice cream, vegetable fat means frozen dessert.
Is frozen dessert bad for you?
No. Frozen dessert is a legal, safe, regulated product. The issue the regulator acted on was labelling and advertising, not safety. The practical differences are that it uses vegetable fat instead of milk fat, which changes how it melts and how it finishes in the mouth, and that it is cheaper to make.
How can I tell ice cream from frozen dessert without reading the label?
Weigh two tubs of the same size in your hands. The lighter one has more air whipped into it. Then taste: vegetable fat coats the palate and leaves a slightly waxy finish, while cream clears. Neither test is as reliable as reading the fat line on the pack.
Which ice cream brands in Pakistan are real dairy ice cream?
Melado, Hico and Baskin Robbins are dairy ice cream. Walls and Omore were the subject of the Competition Commission ruling on frozen dessert marketing. Because product lines change, the pack in your hand is always the authority, not a list.
Which is cheaper, Melado or Baskin Robbins?
On list prices read in August 2026, Melado is cheaper on almost every line. A single scoop is Rs 150 to 200 at Melado against Rs 649 at Baskin Robbins, and a take-home litre is Rs 1,240 to 1,699 against Rs 4,799 for a Baskin Robbins quart. Baskin Robbins runs discounts periodically, so check the current price before ordering.
Is Sweet Creme the same kind of ice cream as Melado?
Not quite. Sweet Creme is a soft serve brand and Melado is hard scoop ice cream, so the two cups are different products rather than the same product at different prices. On the items that do line up, Melado is cheaper, except cheesecake by the slice, where Sweet Creme is Rs 540 against Melado's Rs 650.
Is Melado ice cream or frozen dessert?
Melado is dairy ice cream. Milk and cream in the base, real fruit in the fruit flavours and the popsicles, and real chocolate in the chocolate ones.