Here’s the scoop: What does an ice cream cost in Malta?

With the summer heat still lingering, few things sound better than an ice cream. But depending on where you buy it, your choice of frozen treat can cost anything from less than €2 to considerably more than an hour’s pay on minimum wage.

Euronews Business recently published an article looking at what a scoop costs across 10 countries – and, more interestingly, how much time people effectively have to work to pay for one.

Euronews found indicative prices ranging from around €1.15 to €4.10 per scoop, although it stressed that prices vary according to location, establishment, portion size and flavour.

Malta was not included in that comparison, but the prices spotted by BusinessNow.mt suggest it would hardly look out of place at the pricier end of the scale.

Two scoops from a shop in Sliema cost €6, or €3 per scoop if divided evenly, placing the indicative price below Euronews' highest figure of €4.10 but well above its €1.15 low.

Malta’s minimum wage works out at around €5.74 gross per hour based on a standard 40-hour working week. With that figure in mind, BusinessNow.mt took a look at prices across local ice cream shops, delivery platforms, kiosks and supermarkets to see what an ice cream can set you back.

Two scoops, please

At major ice cream shows, cups costs anywhere from €4.50 for a small, a medium €5.50 and a large €6.50.

Fancy a cone instead? That costs an additional €0.50, rising to €1.50 for a gluten-free option.

A valletta parlour's cheapest offering listed on local delivery platforms then comes in at €7.

And then there is perhaps the most intriguing ice-cream flavour is the Facebook flavour spotted in Sliema. What exactly makes an ice cream taste like a social media platform is a question for another day, and it did not specify whether it comes with likes, comments and friend requests.

The humble isn't so humble anymore

Packaged ice creams bought from kiosks can also make a noticeable dent in the wallet.

Over the weekend, two Maxibons bought from a kiosk cost €4.70 each, bringing the total for two ice creams to €9.40.

That works out at roughly 49 minutes of gross work at the minimum wage for a single Maxibon – or around one hour and 38 minutes for two.

Supermarkets, however, offer some considerably cheaper alternatives. Individual ice cream bars can be found for around €1.75, while one 200g tub was priced at €2.05.

At €1.75, an ice cream bar represents around 18 minutes of minimum-wage gross earnings. The €2.05 tub comes to roughly 21 minutes.

But the supermarket aisle can also venture firmly into premium territory.

Multipacks from some of the bigger brands can approach €10. One Oreo-branded box containing four individual ice creams, for example, was priced at €9.99. That works out at around €2.50 per ice cream if all four make it to four separate occasions.

And what about the ice cream van?

Then there is the Maltese summer staple, the soft serve from the ice cream van.

Prices vary considerably depending on size and, importantly, just how ambitious you get with the toppings.

A basic soft serve can start at around €2, while larger creations can climb beyond €4 once fruit, extra sauces and the all-important Flake enter the equation.

At the lower end, €2 represents roughly 21 minutes of gross minimum-wage earnings. A €4 creation is closer to 42 minutes.

An artisanal gelato shop, a supermarket multipack, a kiosk and an ice cream van operate under very different business models and cost structures. Still, the comparison offers an interesting glimpse into how the price of a relatively small treat can vary considerably depending on where – and what – one buys.