The best summer ever...

The ice cream season is almost here again, and the manufacturers have produced another raft of taste sensations to tantalise your customers' taste buds. For retailers it could mean the best of times.

According to the AACS 2003 Industry Report, ice creams account for around 2.5% of sales at major C-Stores and over 3% at smaller outlets. The last twelve months have shown little or no growth in ice cream business at the major convenience stores. In fact, ACNielsen C*Track shows a 1% reduction in ice cream sales at the major convenience stores last year, but this has to be viewed alongside excellent growth of over 10% for the year before.

Overall, the ice cream market is in good shape and (over $460m RSV) and, perhaps more than any other product category, relies on product innovation to drive sales. 2004 looks like a major year for ice cream activity and every retailer needs to be ready for the new additions that will be coming to the freezer.

Streets

The Ice Cream category is divided into four consumer segments that include Indulgent Chocolate, Snacking, Fun & Value and Refreshment. According to Streets' National Channel Manager David Huxley, P&C, seasonality affects all the Ice Cream category; however, more so the 'Refreshment' and 'Fun & Value' segments.

MAGNUM sits in the 'Indulgent Chocolate' segment, the segment which has enjoyed the highest investment from all manufacturers, according to David Huxley. "Magnum accounts for at least six of the top 10 SKUs and outsells its nearest rivals by 4:1," he said.

Continued new product development in Indulgence has seen the release of MAGNUM VICE CREAMS with, most recently, the new flavours Berry Buzz and Mocha Hit in August.

The 'Snacking' segment has also done well and has an equal share to 'Indulgence'. However, Mr Huxley says that 'Snacking' potentially has capacity for higher growth.

Segment share of the category
Indulgent Chocolate	35%
Snacking	37%
Fun & Value	12%
Refreshment	16%

In the 'Snacking' segment, Streets says CORNETTO is undergoing a global resurgence: After eight years of no promotional support, it's blasting back with a huge campaign, new product formulations and new packaging. The new campaign includes TV, Radio & PR. The Cornetto campaign ' No Boring Bits' capitalises on the new positioning for CORNETTO of 'Fun & Excitement'. Cornetto has released four new flavours - Vanilla Sundae, Double Choc, Passion Berry and Caramel Crunch.

CALIPPO, positioned in the Refreshment segment, is being promoted via a new campaign to highlight the addition of 25% juice. According to Streets, 'Refreshment' is an extremely seasonal segment which means outlets need to be ahead of the game to capitalise on the volume uplift.

The Fun and Value segment has seen a revamp of PADDLE POP LION with a new 3D image. Mr Huxley says: "Paddle Pop has over 90% share of 'Fun & Value' and is a 50 year old brand in the Australian market place. However, we felt he was in need of an 'Extreme Makeover'."

His new image will be joined by the addition of the Gooey Mint Choc variant and a 97% fat free formulation across all variants, picking up on the growing concern all Australians have for healthier treats. A comprehensive advertising campaign is supporting this launch - with TV being a major component.

Streets' Tips to Maximise Sales This Summer

New products are important to bring news to the category, but remember to adequately stock and display the long time classics in this category. Make sure you have the right stock weight of these classic sellers in a well laid out freezer, located in the impulse zone and you will make some cool profits this summer!!

Nestlé Peters

Set to make 2004 its biggest year yet, Nestlé Peters has launched a new range under the well-known DRUMSTICK brand. Called DRUMSTICK Loaded, the range has been developed to grow the Snacking segment within the Impulse Ice Cream Category and cement DRUMSTICK as the segment leader in 2004 and beyond.

In the flavours of Honeycomb, Nutty Caramel and Choc Cherry, DRUMSTICK Loaded has large bite-sized chunks on top and then smaller pieces and sauces throughout. "Nestle Peters' head of marketing, David Cross, says it's a step change product innovation that is set to stimulate growth in the Australian Ice Cream category."

The launch is being supported by a national advertising campaign including TV, buses and trams. DRUMSTICK LOADED is also the official ice cream of Australian Idol and will be seen throughout all the final series as well as other popular music and sporting programs like the AFL and NRL grand final.

"Additionally, a heavy trade component to the launch is giving every major national Petrol & Convenience chain an exclusive 'Loaded' promotion that Peters says is sure to drive sales.

Peters has also released two new kids' products to help drive growth in the 'Fun & Value' segment: The first is THUMB STIX - a range of three fruit flavoured water ices that stick on the thumb! Targeted at primary school kids, Peters expects this unique novelty to be a sure favorite with Australian kids. The THUMB STIX range is also being supported with an $800K TV Campaign.

The second, KILLER PYTHONS is already a well-known brand with teens. Now Nestlé Peters has made the longest icypole in the freezer a seriously twisted water ice treat!

All the new products are supported by an extensive POS package. This is Nestlé Peters biggest launch ever - so retailers should make the most of it.

PB Foods

PB Foods, the makers of Cadbury Ice Cream has added both 'eat now' and 'eat later' products that will see the freezer bursting with ice cream innovations.

Every reason to 'Eat Now': The CHERRY RIPE BITES are bite size pieces of Cherry Ripe ice cream, smothered in Old Gold Chocolate and offer six bites in a metallic flow tray. Then there's CADBURY CREAMY VANILLA, a combination of Cadbury® Dairy Milk� milk chocolate and the creamiest vanilla ice cream. Finally, DREAM WITH COOKIES offers a combination of cookies and cream ice cream smothered in Dream® white chocolate.

And to 'Eat Later': After the success of the single serve Crunchie Nuggets released last year, a range of BITE SIZE MULTIPACKS have been developed, including Cherry Ripe, Old Gold Peppermint Chip and Crunchie Nuggets. The range comes in a convenient Chinese take away style box and is aimed to drive traffic to the back of the store.

The perfect size for two: CHERRY RIPE offers bite size pieces of Cherry Ripe ice cream with cherry pieces and smothered in Cadbury Old Gold chocolate; CRUNCHIE NUGGETS are covered in Cadbury® Dairy Milk� milk chocolate, with honeycomb pieces; and OLD GOLD PEPPERMINT CHIP comprises Peppermint ice cream covered with Old Gold® chocolate and mint pieces.

CRUNCHIE AND PICNIC 1L is being re-launched in a see-through tub to show the new, creamy ice cream with extra sauce and inclusions. CRUNCHIE will be on view in all its glory showing honeycomb and chocolate flavoured ice creams with a chocolate fudge sauce and honeycomb pieces; PICNIC offers a visual feast of peanut and chocolate flavoured ice creams with caramel sauce, chocolate rice crisps and peanuts.

And in a flourish of fine food finales, Cadbury has added four new classic dessert flavours to its Connoisseur Dessert Collection - Limited Editions range in a 470ml format. There's STICKY DATE PUDDING - a combination of super premium date ice cream laced with a caramel butter sauce and butterscotch biscuit pieces. CRéME BRULEE - vanilla custard ice cream with a caramelised sugar ripple and showered in toffee shards, and MAPLE PECAN PIE - a blend of maple super premium ice cream amongst ribbons of maple sauce and caramel roasted pecans. Finally, CINNAMON APPLE DANISH comprises a super premium cinnamon danish ice cream, a blend of spicy, chunky apple sauce, vanilla biscuits and French Calvados Liqueur.

An addition to the Connoisseur range is CONNOISSEUR RICHE, a dessert log in two flavours: VANILLA HAZELNUT TRUFFLE - vanilla ice cream with a ribbon of hazelnut sauce, smothered in hazelnut praline, and CAFÉ ALMOND ROYALE - caramelised almonds, blended with almond ice cream, swirled with ribbons of coffee sauce and smothered with hazelnut praline.

There's also a new member in the Connoisseur family, CHOCOLATE HONEY NOUGAT 1L - a blend of chocolate and honey ice cream and includes a generous amount of the finest almond nougat.

On the promotion front, PB Foods has joined forces with Disney/Pixar to develop a launch product in conjunction with the movie The Incredibles. Launching on December 26, The Incredibles is the latest movie from the partnership that brought us Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc.

FROZONE is an Incredible lemonade and raspberry water ice with a crispy choc dip and refers to one of the characters in The Incredibles.

Another joint promotion, in this instance with Cadbury Schweppes, offers consumers the opportunity to win a bank account worth $250,000 by buying any two specially marked products. This on-pack promotion will have major media support, with over $4 million being spent over the summer between Buena Vista, Cadbury Schweppes and Cadbury Ice Cream.

The promotional packs will include all Cadbury 2L tubs and all of Cadbury 2L Light tubs.

Norco

Norco's award winning CAPE BYRON SUPREME ice creams are now in the supermarkets on the East Coast with a new look and an expanded range of flavours.

Using the slogan, 'ice cream for the soul' to underline its fine quality, Norco says: "This is what ice cream should taste like Š and an increasing number of consumers are discovering for themselves what judges at food shows have known for some time nowŠ.Cape Byron Supreme is one of the finest ice creams in the country."

A regular award winner at the Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne shows, this year it won awards at the Sydney and Melbourne shows; the Exquisite Vanilla flavour won the Grand Champion Dairy Product - 2004.

The new range of flavours includes: Choc Orange - smooth, creamy ribbons of chocolate and orange ice cream with a refreshing orange ripple; Sublime Blueberry Swirl - ice cream with blueberries swirled through waves of creamy vanilla ice cream; Mango Peach Rhapsody - mango ice cream swirled with peach pieces; Traditional Chocolate Mudcake - a dark and creamy classic with a rich chocolate ripple; Pecan Caramel - the creamiest vanilla ice cream swirled with a caramel ripple and generously scattered with crunchy pecan nut pieces.

A larger range of flavours is available for the foodservice segment.

Weis

Weis's latest addition was back in March with the winter launch of the BLACKBERRIES AND RICH VANILLA Cream bar.

In true Weis tradition, this latest product is made with real fruit and other natural ingredients to bring out the best possible taste and texture. The blackberries are combined with other natural ingredients including real vanilla bean in the rich vanilla cream layer.

Weis BLACKBERRIES AND RICH VANILLA CREAM BARS are available individually to convenience stores, and in multi-packs of four for supermarkets and larger stores.

A television campaign for Blackberries & Rich Vanilla Cream will be airing early November 2004 and throughout January 2005 nationally, including WA.