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From the standpoint of U.S. industry standards of identity there are lots of products within the ice cream case that can’t be called ice cream. Some have their own separate product categories like frozen yogurt or sorbet, or ice cream novelties. Other newer products are marketed like ice cream, and basically are made with ice cream, but are so filled with inclusions that they fall out of the standards. Then there are things like ice cream cakes and other desserts that combine ice cream and baked treats.
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According to IRI’s FDMX measure of food, drugstores and mass merchandisers other than Wal-Mart, the category is showing some growth, even while much of the broader ice cream segment is flat or in slight decline. In those FDMX channels the frozen dessert sub-segment totaled just $158 million in sales for the 52 weeks ended July 13, according to IRI, but that was an increase of about $3.6% over the prior year. Units were up nearly 2% for the same period, with 12.5 million units sold.
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Carvel is a very dominant brand in this category, with a whopping 64% of the market share, making it much larger than private label. Weight Watchers Smart Ones is moving at a good clip too.
In the broader arena, annual sales of the overall ice cream and sherbet category, as tracked by IRI (again this is for the FDMX measure) reached about $4.5 billion for the 52 weeks ended July 13, while about 1.3 billion units were sold during that same period.
That dollar sales figure is just a fraction of a percentage point below the same period last year, but the unit sales represents a 4.7% decline.
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Frozen desserts have always been about indulgence, Mintel says, but today’s sweet treats look well beyond traditional flavors to tempt consumers. In fact, many dairy-based offerings would be more at home in a supermarket bakery aisle or candy display than in the frozen food case. Dessert-inspired ice cream treats are gaining momentum, as evidenced by the proliferation of cake, cookie and candy “mix-in” ice creams. Since 2007, for instance, Dreyer’s has extended its Loaded brand with Butterfinger and Chocolate Chip Mint Brownie variants.
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Weight Watchers Smart Ones Signature Sundaes Peanut Butter Cup Sundae comprises an indulgent combination of lowfat vanilla ice cream swirled over a crumbled chocolate cookie crust, topped with fudge sauce and mini peanut butter cups. It contains 170 calories, 5g of fat and three Weight Watchers points value per serving. The pack contains two 2.29-oz. individually wrapped sundaes, which can be thawed in the microwave.
Looking at data from Mintel regarding these kinds of products, we see that Kosher, lowfat and natural are important claims. Interesting to note that growth in the number of dairy-based products has slowed in the last 18 to 24 months. Perhaps the higher price for dairy inputs has had in impact here.
The Sherbet/Sorbet/Ices sub-category is more about the fruit, rather than the milk and cream. But there have been some challenges in that field as well.