New ice cream products coming your way

Summer is about to kick in. Sunshine, long days, beach holidays, golden tans and of course lots of ice cream! Along with the tried and true classic sellers, the Ice Cream market is gearing itself to cater for an endless variety of summer tastes with new products ready to hit your store.

Streets

According to Streets, in the Petrol & Convenience channel, the ice cream category is valued at $64.3 million and has grown by 3.3% compared to the same time a year ago. The Category is broken up into four distinct consumer segments: Indulgence, Snacking, Refreshment and Fun & Value.

The largest segment is the Snacking segment with 42% dollar share, says Streets. This segment includes Cornetto, Drumstick, Gaytime and Maxibon. The Indulgence segment, the second largest segment with 32% share includes Magnums - the most powerful selling brand in the category, according to Streets. The Refreshment segment with 15% share includes Splice, Weis and Calippo. The segment is most affected by seasonal changes and is positioned to grow the category and grab more share of the pie this summer. The Fun & Value segment, currently with 11% share, includes brands such as Paddle Pop and Killer Python. This segment is also greatly affected by colder weather, and Streets predicts it will grow and expand share over the summer.

?The Snacking segment has already enjoyed phenomenal growth over the winter period,? says Streets, ?with Cornetto growing by $2.75 million (3400%) over the latest six months. Since its face-lift in July 2004, Cornetto?s consumer uptake has been firing.? Earlier this year, Streets released two Arnotts co-branded variants - Cornetto Tim Tam and Cornetto Mint Slice; both have crunchy biscuit balls spiralling all the way down the cone.

The Indulgence segment is becoming more indulgent than ever with the August launch of Ultra Magnums. Under the number one Magnum brand valued at $13.8 million, the new variants include Ultra Magnum Toffee Nut Crunch - with double thickness milk chocolate and peanut brittle coating, vanilla ice cream and caramel swirls. The second variant, Ultra Magnum White Berry Bliss comprises double thickness white chocolate, a coconut coating, vanilla ice cream and berry swirl.

Ultra Magnums target the super indulgent consumer, and Streets believes this will contribute to keeping sales growth at the top of the agenda. Magnum currently has 22% share of the total category where its core range, Classic, Almond, Ego and Peppermint Envy, has grown in value by 6.7% over the latest MAT. With all core range positioned within the top seven for the year, Streets recommends retailers keep adequate stock levels in all freezers this summer.

The Refreshment segment has seen the entry of three new products. The new Splice Exotic Fruits range (known in Europe as Solero) is extending the Splice brand into the premium fruit segment. The two flavours are Mango Passion and Berry Delight. Containing 20% real fruit, they are made of fruit sorbet swirls and ice cream encased in a zesty fruit puree shell. This brand is aimed at those consumers who would like a guilt-free indulgence experience. To go hand in hand with the Splice brand ?face-lift?, Splice Pine-Lime has also undergone a re-vamp with improved product formulation (real fruit juice and 97% fat free) and new packaging design.

And the Paddle Pop Icy Twist - with the twist offering a visually appealing shape - will now have the same flavour and be the same size as the Lemonade Slickstick..

Last but not least, kids? insatiable appetites for innovation will be gratified this summer with two new products from Paddle Pop (holding 71% share of the Fun & Value segment). Paddle Pop Cosmic Smash is made of swirled chocolate and berry ice confection and is dipped in white chocolate and exploding candy.

Streets claims that the Paddle Pop Grape Bender is one of the most interactive, cool and fun products ever. This frozen jelly ice is designed to bend with no drip or mess; it was successfully launched overseas two years ago. Advertising support will include TV as a major component.

Street Tips to Maximise Sales

Streets? P&C national Channel Manager, Chris Burgon, believes that whilst it is important to bring new products into the ice Cream category, it is just as important to adequately stock and display long time classic sellers. Remember to be ahead in the game in opening up space and range to the Refreshment segment in order to capitalise on high volume uplifts in the summertime.

Nestl? Peters

Nestl? Peters told ACSN that its sales through convenience stores have grown by $3.5 million in the last three years and this has grown market share from 38.1% to 41.7%. Nestl? adds that the continued success of brands such as Drumstick, Heaven and Maxibon as well as innovation with kids? products has helped it to leadership in both volume and value within Australia?s Ice Cream category, estimated at $1.4 billion in annual sales.

Nestl? Peters? key focus for Summer 2005/06 will be the launch of Drumstick Gelato and its sponsorship of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. In the last two years, over 300 gelato shops have opened across Australia; Nestle Peters has developed two innovative products that draw on its market leading gelato business in Italy. The first of the two products is Drumstick Mango Gelato - a refreshing Mango Sorbet type gelato with mango sauce throughout, finished with a dairy-based mango flavoured gelato topping and more mango sauce.

The second Drumstick product is a traditional choc hazelnut dairy-based gelato. Smooth and creamy in texture, it comprises a choc hazelnut sauce throughout with a sprinkling of hazelnut pieces and choc hazelnut sauce on top. Both have been launched to capitalise on the Summer period and are a limited edition.

"Our aim is to offer the true gelato taste anywhere, anytime and by working close with our Italian sister company we have really been able to deliver on this."

Its exclusive Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games sponsorship will be a key component of promoting Nestl? Peters? ice cream brands and will be supported by a media campaign and consumer program. Drumstick gelato is being supported via a path to purchase program, its aim being to draw consumers to the Peters? freezer via outdoor transit and street advertising. This will be combined with a variety of point-of-sale elements, both on an around the Nestl? Peters blue freezers. Nestl? Drumstick Gelato is available from 1st October.

PB Foods

Last year, PB Foods launched the Connoisseur Dessert Collection, a range of indulgent dessert style ice creams in a 470ml tub; the flavours included Cr?me Brulee and Sticky Date Pudding. This September, Connoisseur has launched two new flavours - Tiramisu and Passion Panna Cotta.

Tiramisu features brandy flavoured and coffee flavoured ice cream, in coffee chocolate sauce, nestled with butter biscuits and finished with a sprinkling of fine chocolate biscuit crumbs. Passion Panna Cotta is a mascarpone flavoured ice cream with passionfruit and Cointreau? flavoured sauce and butter biscuits.

The Connoisseur family has also introduced a new 1L flavour - Chocolate Mint Seduction ? a creamy chocolate ice cream with peppermint fondant and dark chocolate coated nougat pieces.

Also new, and a first for Connoisseur, are two Connoisseur multipacks. Available from the end of September, the multipacks come in two flavours: Caramel Cascade - premium caramel ice cream with ribbons of caramel sauce in a caramel shell; and Chocolate Brownie Temptation - chunks of chocolate brownie nestled in chocolate ice cream and smothered in rich dark chocolate.

According to PB Foods spokesperson, Gemma Gardiner, Connoisseur ice cream is the market leader in Super Premium, with 32.8% market share, showing double digit growth year on year, with 11.8% last MAT. (Source: Aztec Grocery Scan Data. Period ended 24 Jul 05)

And Cadbury Ice Cream is filling up the freezer compartments with irresistible new products.

Following on from last summer?s successful Dream with Cookies launch, this summer, Cadbury Ice Cream has released Dream Strawberry Delight as a limited edition impulse line. The product offers strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce ripples, covered in Cadbury Dream white chocolate.

?Cadbury Dream is the leading brand of white chocolate and Dream Strawberry Delight is already performing strongly as a confectionery offer,? says PB Foods? Kirsten Williams. ?The confectionery researched extremely well, with high level of purchase intent, so we are expecting the Dream brand to continue strong growth in the Ice Cream category too.?

Cadbury Flake and Picnic are also being relaunched with new look packaging, bringing the brands into line with Cadbury confectionery masterbrand packaging. The new packaging for Flake and Picnic includes transparent lids and strongly branded sleeves for greater impact in the freezer.

There?s also a brand new look in line for Cadbury 2L with the range upgrading to the new Cadbury masterbrand packaging. Additionally, three new flavours were launched in September. The new flavours are Triple Chocolate - offering chocolate flavoured ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate chips; Peppermint - chocolate and peppermint flavoured ice cream with peppermint sauce; and new to the Light range - Light Turkish Delight - chocolate and Turkish Delight flavoured low fat ice cream with Turkish Delight sauce.

And anyone concerned with a winter of over-indulging will be pleased to know that the entire Cadbury Light range is now 97% Fat Free!

Memphis Meltdown Big Nuts is another exciting new launch, bound to bring stimulation to the impulse freezer. Thick caramel rippled vanilla ice cream, smothered with nut chunks and rich milk chocolate - it?s big, it?s ugly and it?s indulgent.

Finally, a WA icon, Giant Sandwich, is being released on the east coast. This unique sandwich style product - comprising of creamy vanilla ice cream between two biscuits - is the top selling brand in petrol and convenience stores in WA. (Source: AC Nielsen Scan C* Track MAT to 3/7/05)

Giant Sandwich has been available exclusively through Caltex stores on the east coast over the last year. ?The product?s strong performance has encouraged us to extend distribution to our Cadbury Ice Cream freezer network,? says Ms Williams.

Weis

The Weis range is marketed as ?real? ice cream - relying on the goodness and flavour of the natural ingredients (with nothing artificial) for its distinctive appearance, taste and ingredient choice.

Weis drives its market share through continual innovation, according to Managing Director Julie Weis. The latest innovation is the Macadamia, Mangoes and Cream Bar.

?The new bar is made from Queensland macadamia nuts and Kensington Pride mangoes. It swiftly became the best new line Weis has ever introduced,? she said. ?Since its March 2005 release, the Macadamia, Mangoes and Cream Bar has sold 1.4 million units (supermarket & route).?

Weis has redesigned its packaging too, to ensure consumers get the message that only the best quality fruit is used.

?The new packs only show real fruit images. What you see on-pack is exactly what we?ve used inside ? real raspberries, juicy mangoes, plump blackberries. No artificial flavours at all. Just by looking at the pack, consumers know exactly what they?re getting,? said Ms Weis.

Bold coloured panels further highlight the flavours and make it easy for consumers to pick their favourite fruit and cream combination from the freezer cabinet.

Following the pack redesign, the 2005-06 peak sales periods will be supported by a $1+ million advertising campaign focused on pushing customers in-store.

Weis says its sales growth continues to exceed the growth in the entire petrol and convenience ice cream category and Weis bar variants have been continually in the top 10 and 20 rankings nationally for the past 5 years.

?While others have worried about poor category performance, Weis has experienced year on year growth ? with this year?s dollar sales in petrol and convenience 22% up on the year prior, and 2004 sales 23% up on 2003! ?