Magazine: Impulse buying drives the ice cream market

Good news for ice cream makers and sellers: despite the rainy summer the market expanded once again in 2014. Enikő Grán, trade marketing manager of Unilever Magyarország Kft. told Trade magazin that the rainy weather affected impulse product sales the most, but this decline was offset by the growth in the multipack segment. This year retail sales have been growing steadily for months. According to Dr Ildikó Murányi, business consultant of Nestlé & Mövenpick ice cream, although the weather is a key factor in sales (80 percent of products are sold in the summer), in the case of products with higher sugar content manufacturers must also calculate with factors such as the public health product tax (NETA). Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry are the most popular ice cream flavours in both Hungary and the region. At the same time there is a new trend that considers ice creams to be a kind of dessert – but in this case some kind of added value is a requirement. Viktor Kelemen, commercial director of Ledo Kft. informed us that they experience a growing demand for quality products. He added that consumers pay special attention to not miss the occasion when these higher-priced products can be bought in promotion. What about new products? Unilever’s Carte d’Or brand surprises ice cream lovers with new flavours year after year. Two of this year’s innovations are Brownie ice cream and Chocolate hazelnut ice cream. In the Big Milk product line a new fruit flavour called Sicilian will appear in stores in the Trio range. In the multipack segment the company focuses on the Algida Max product line, which was developed especially for children. Magnum is market leader among ice creams on a stick. Two new products will hit the market this year, both of them were inspired by desserts: Magnum Triamisu and Magnum Crème Brûlée. Solero, an ice cream very popular at the end of the 1990s, will return to stores this season. Nestlé never stops innovating and in the spirit of this attitude they put a new 1,000ml ice cream range on the market this year, which will be available in three flavours. In the family category Manhattan Family Pack ice creams’ lids will also serve as a Frisbee. The company’s latest licensed product is the Star Wars ice cream on a stick, inspired by the forthcoming new episode in the series. Nestlé’s premium new products: Mövenpick Macao in yogurt-forest fruit flavour and Lion cone ice cream in caramel-chocolate version. Ledo’s flagship product lines are Ledo 2l and Ginissimo Grande 1.65l ice creams, where the following innovations will be waiting for shoppers this season: floating island-blueberry and raspberry cake. This year they are also launching the Grandissimo 900ml range in the upper premium category. In the multipack category Ledo puts a unique product on the market: Coolbar combines cocoa biscuits with ice cream. Two special impulse products will make their debut in the Hungarian market this season: FCBarcelona targets boys and Funny Bubble is for girls – both products come with a gift inside. One of the possible innovation directions is developing lactose- and sugar-free products. Márk Radosai, sales director of Ragonese Kft. told our magazine that they play a pioneering role in this field of the Hungarian market. For instance this season they are launching their Paleolithic ice cream. Ragonese’s branded products are currently available in 500ml, 900ml and 2,300 ml sizes. Last year they put 500ml Single products on the market. This year they don’t plan to come out with new products. The company also manufactures private label ice creams. As for their marketing activity: in 2015 the lid of every Gelatiamo ice cream can be used to get 3, 5 or 7 scoops of ice cream at the company’s designated Horeca partners. Tamás Valló, the director of Bestar Hungary Kft. informed us that they focus on satisfying the needs of lactose-sensitive consumers. The most popular flavours in their water-based Sorbet product line are lemon, raspberry and orange, but demand is growing for more exotic varieties as well. Bestar intends to give a renewable packaging to their Augusto brand. They also plan to reduce the size of their 500ml products: currently they are testing 150ml ice creams with partners.