The latest addition to the dairy-free market could see a potato-based ice cream hitting the freezers of your local supermarket in the coming months.

A Swedish company, DUG Drinks, has just received patent approval for a version of ice-cream made with rapeseed oil, vegetable protein emulsion and potatoes, the initial agreement just covering Sweden.

The company is hoping to receive international protection soon and it already produces potato milk in competition to soy and oat versions; while that has yet to achieve the success of its competitors, it is available in a number of supermarkets in the UK and across Europe.

“We are pleased that a patent is approved in Sweden,” said Professor Eva Tornberg, founder of Veg of Lund, the parent company of DUG Drinks. “The fact it is based on such an everyday crop as potatoes shows the uniqueness and strength of the patent.”

The launch of its potato ice cream will be followed by the introduction of a number of other products, with CEO of DUG, Fredrik Carling, saying the company is working on “new product development projects in the meat-alternative segment and the ice cream segment, both of which will be based on our patented potato-powered emulsion”.

The increase in the number of people going dairy-free has seen markets such as vegan ice-cream forecasted to grow to $800million (£643million) by 2027, up from $520million (£418million) in 2019.