Ice cream on a stick conquers, mainly because of its price

The summer of 2012 was very hot, so ice cream sales were soaring. Dr Ildikó Murányi, business development manager with Nestlé & Mövenpick Ice Cream told our magazine that private label products remained strong in the ice cream segment, but there was demand for premium and innovative products too.

Viktor Kelemen, director of commerce at Ledo Kft. experienced a slowing down in the sales of private label ice creams last year. His view is that multinational chains have started to prioritise their international assortment to the detriment of local ice cream producers. Discount stores were strong in terms of both quality and prices offered. Cheap ice creams on a stick (or without a stick) started their conquest and according to Mr Kelemen, they might take away a two-digit market share per year from the family category. The problem with this is that no one can realise profit margins big enough on these products, consequently suppliers change from year to year, there is no brand building and quality is not given priority. Tamás Valló, co-owner of Bestar Hungary Kft. also saw the expansion of cheaper, small-sized impulse products. It was interesting for Bestar to realise that the vanilla flavour had started to lose popularity and fruit flavours became more sought after. This year Nestlé concentrates on its Mövenpick ice creams. In the company’s portfolio we don’t only find impulse and family products but Horeca versions as well, targeting partners who would like to serve their guests premium ice cream. As for retail, new flavours will appear in the Manhattan and Mövenpick lines, plus Nestlé will come out with new LEO ice creams and SpongeBob SquarePants ice cream. Ledo’s 2-litre ice cream and Ginissimo Grande 1.65-litre improved sales, while in the impulse segment the company strengthened its position with the new Bumm ice cream on a stick. Ledo is famous for its brave innovation strategy, putting never-before-seen products on the market such as lavender or rosata last year; this year 2-litre Ledo panna cotta-raspberry and Ginissimo Grande Pannonia will surprise ice cream lovers. Bestar Hungary’s sales soared by 40 percent in 2012, thanks to their new innovative products (Tre Colori, Sorbet, etc.) and to the rock-solid confidence of their partners in the company. This year one of Bestar Hungary’s targets is familiarising consumers with the tube-packaged Sorbet that was introduced last year. This product boasts 30-percent fruit content. In addition to their Augusto brand, they have also been building the Bambo and Joy brands for years.