Cold start

The per capita consumption of ice creams is well below the European average in Hungary, although manufacturers keep expanding their assortments from year to year. Probably, the most important limitation for the expansion of the market has been the fact that consumers regarded ice cream as seasonal refreshment and not as a sweet. Consumption habits seem to be changing gradually and product development increasingly focuses on bringing ice cream closer to popular cakes. HoReCa units which prefer to sell ice cream regard reliable quality, ease of handling and a longer shelf life as a priority, while those which prefer to sell cakes are opting for creativity and a fast response to consumer needs. Ice creams are slowly losing their seasonal character. As these are impulse products, supplementary elements like wafers and attractive, modern utensils are very important. Employees of the Algida Division of Unilever believe that special flavours can achieve the success of traditional flavours like chocolate or strawberry. Laura Tengerdi, business development director of Algida has told us that they have prepared the new flavour for 2008 with Sándor Kovács confectioner: Carte d’Or Somlói dumplings. Ragonese Kft., a distributor of home-style ice cream has 40 flavours in several sizes for its partners. According to Melinda Horváth, sales director, their richly decorated ice creams can be kept in cooled displays for 7 days. They have also introduced a 65 litre transparent jar for HoReCa clients. Traditional flavours like chocolate, vanilla, or lemon continue to dominate the market of ice cream. Innovations are intended to change this situation. Unilever has turned to the flavours of traditional desserts for inspiration and also relied on other general trends in developing its innovations. For example, Magnum Ecuador Dark and Magnum Mayan Mystica has been inspired by the trend favouring a high coca content in chocolate. Ragonese relies on the Italian character of ice cream. A special flavour developed as a combination of Italian and Hungarian tradition is launched every year. They also target children with innovations, like lemon-cola this year. According to Melinda Horváth, the Italian market has a major influence on Hungarian trends, with our ice creams becoming increasingly like the Italian ice creams. Regarding the ingredients used, fat and sugar content is decreasing and biscuits, nuts and fruits are used more frequently. Laura Tengerdi also emphasises that artificial additives and aromas are gradually disappearing from ice creams. Low calorie products made exclusively from natural ingredients are the future.