What Wood Are Magnum Sticks Made Of?
They are wood, not plastic — and in practice that means one of two hardwoods: birch or poplar.
The wide, waisted paddle in a chocolate-coated ice cream bar is cut from a pale, close-grained hardwood. Across the industry that is almost always birch or poplar. Both are chosen for the same reasons: they are pale enough not to discolour the bar, they have no resin and therefore no taste or smell, they cut cleanly to a thin section, and they sand to a surface that will not splinter in someone’s mouth.
Unilever, which owns the Magnum brand, publishes commitments on sourcing its ice cream sticks from certified sustainable forestry. That is their claim about their own supply chain, not ours — we mention it only because it is the second thing people ask after "what wood is it".
Birch or poplar — what actually differs
Both woods do the job, and a finished stick from either looks much the same to a customer. The differences matter to whoever is buying them by the tonne.
| Birch | Poplar | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Pale cream, slightly pinker | Pale cream, slightly greener |
| Density | Harder, ~640 kg/m³ | Softer, ~450 kg/m³ |
| Grain | Fine, very even | Fine, straight, a little more open |
| Pieces per kg | Fewer — the same stick weighs more | More sticks to the kilogram |
| Grows in | Northern Europe, Russia, China | Widely, including Punjab |
| Typical use | European and Chinese production | South Asian production, and much of the world’s ice cream sticks |
Poplar is what we mill, and it is what the great majority of sticks made in Pakistan are cut from — it grows locally along the canals and rivers of Punjab, which is why a poplar stick made here does not carry an import price.
Why not some other wood
Pine and other softwoods carry resin, which taints the flavour of anything frozen against them. Dense tropical hardwoods are too hard to cut economically at 2 mm and too dark against a pale bar. Bamboo is a grass rather than a timber and is processed completely differently — it is used for skewers and some cutlery, but not for moulded ice cream sticks, because it does not take the waisted paddle profile cleanly.
The real quality variable is not the species at all. It is drying. Wood that was not dried down to about 8–12% moisture before it was cut will warp in the mould, raise its grain after sanding, and snap on de-moulding — whatever tree it came from.
The Magnum paddle profile
The recognisable shape is a dog-bone: wide rounded lobes at both ends with a narrower waist between them. The standard is 94 × 17/11/17 × 2 mm — 94 mm long, 17 mm across each lobe, narrowing to 11 mm at the waist, 2 mm thick. A longer 113 mm version is used for oversized bars.
The waist is not decoration. It gives the frozen mix something to grip so a heavy, coated bar does not slide off the stick, and it gives the customer a natural place to hold.
Related questions
Are Magnum sticks wood or plastic?
Wood. The paddle in a chocolate-coated stick bar is cut from a pale hardwood, normally birch or poplar, not moulded from plastic.
Is poplar as good as birch for ice cream sticks?
For the job a stick has to do, yes. Birch is harder and heavier, so you get fewer sticks per kilogram; poplar is lighter and grows locally in Punjab. Both are pale, odourless and splinter-free when properly kiln-dried, and drying matters far more than which of the two you choose.
What size is a Magnum-style paddle stick?
94 × 17/11/17 × 2 mm is the standard — 94 mm long, 17 mm at each lobe, 11 mm at the waist, 2 mm thick. A 113 mm long version is used for oversized bars.
Do you supply Magnum?
No. Magnum is a registered trade mark of Unilever and we have no affiliation with them. We manufacture a paddle stick in the same proportions, which is why we describe it that way — it is the shape the trade recognises.
Can I buy Magnum-style paddle sticks in Pakistan?
Yes. We cut them from Punjab poplar at our plant in Lahore, in both the 94 mm and 113 mm lengths, and supply them wholesale across Pakistan.
Paddle and ice cream sticks from our plant
Cut from Punjab poplar in Lahore. Indicative wholesale bands.
| Size | Section | Pcs / kg | PKR / pc |
|---|---|---|---|
| 94 mm Magnum Paddle Sticks | 94 × 17/11/17 × 2 mm | ~850 | PKR 0.80–1.80 |
| 113 mm Magnum Paddle Sticks | 113 × 17/11/17 × 2 mm | ~705 | PKR 1.00–2.20 |
| 93 mm Ice Cream Sticks | 93 × 10 × 2.0 mm | ~1,195 | PKR 0.30–0.60 |
Need these sticks in Pakistan?
Send the size and quantity and we will quote the same day.
Everything we make
Magnum is a registered trade mark of Unilever. Poplar Works is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a supplier to Unilever; “Magnum-style paddle” describes the shape of the stick only.