Ice milk/frozen dairy heats up the ice cream category

This month, there is plenty of interesting news to report in the ice cream category. According to Chicago-based market research firm Circana, two subcategories saw the usual refrain of dollar sales up, unit sales down, one rocketed higher in both dollar sales and unit sales (always a positive sign), and one saw dollar sales decline while unit sales rose, a rare refrain these days.

Let’s start with the two subcategories that bucked the trend. Starting with positive news, the ice milk/frozen dairy dessert subcategory had a fantastic year for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 5, seeing dollar sales jump 26% year over year (YoY) to $424 million, while unit sales enjoyed a 15% increase to 96 million.

In this subcategory, Breyers remains No. 1 in terms of sales, reaching $191 million in dollar sales, a 2% YoY increase, but unit sales slid 10% to 40.6 million, per Circana data. However, among the top 10 sellers, there were major moves in the past year. Blue Bunny, Turkey Hill, Nestlé and Blue Ribbon Classics all posted strong, higher-than-average gains for the year ending Nov. 5.

Le Mars, Iowa-based Blue Bunny, the No. 2 seller on the ice milk/frozen dairy dessert subcategory list, was definitely not “singing the blues,” enjoying a 111% YoY gain to $63 million, as well as a unit share gain of 93% to 14 million. Conestoga, Pa.-based Turkey Hill’s dollar sales were $50 million, a cool 191% rise, along with unit sales lifting higher by 161% to 13 million. Vevey, Switzerland’s Nestlé’s dollar sales jumped 78% to $45 million, with a similar 72% unit sales rise to 11 million. And Blue Ribbon Classics, a Wells Enterprises brand, saw dollar sales increase 92% YoY to $7.8 million, while posting 2.5 million in unit sales, a healthy 82% hike.

Now, let’s turn to frozen yogurt/tofu, whose dollar sales declined by 2% YoY to $329 million, but unit sales rose a slight 1.4% to 73 million, according to Circana. Leading the way in terms of dollar sales was Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s, whose dollar sales budged slightly by a fraction of a percent to $79 million, while unit sales dipped by 2% to 16 million. The biggest riser on the list for the year ending Nov. 5 was Talenti, whose dollar sales were $12 million, a sizzling YoY increase of 160%. The Unilever brand’s unit sales also enjoyed triple-digit gains, rising 126% YoY to 2.3 million.

Examining the much larger overall ice cream subcategory, overall dollar sales increased a solid 5% YoY to $7.2 billion, but unit sales froze by 4% to 1.5 billion, Circana states. Tops in terms of sales was private label, earning $1.4 billion for the year ending Nov. 5, a 10% YoY gain. However, like several subcategories, private law saw a 4% unit sales decline to 397 million.

Two big movers in the ice cream category were Tillamook, Ore.-based Tillamook, seeing its dollar sales rocket higher by 29% YoY to $339 million, as well as a unit sales rise of 19% to 64 million. Holland, Mich.-based Hudsonville Ice Cream also had a fantastic year, achieving dollar sales of $114 million, a 29% YoY jump, as well as 23% jump in unit sales to 32 million, according to Circana data.

Lastly, the sherbet/sorbet/ices subcategory’s dollar sales lifted by 7% to $253 million, but unit sales went in the other direction, falling 7% to 63 million. Private label also led the way in this subcategory, whose dollar sales rose 4% YoY to $93 million, but its unit sales cooled off by 12% to 27 million, Circana data states.

Movers and shakers in the sherbet/sorbet/ices subcategory were St. Paul, Minn.-based Kemps, under the Dairy Farmers of America umbrella, enjoying dollar sales that surpassed $10 million for the first time, an increase of 23% percent YoY, with an equally strong 13% unit sales gain to 2.5 million. Talenti, No. 2 in dollar sales, saw up arrows in both dollar sales and unit sales. Its dollar sales increased 14% YoY to $61 million, while unit sales eked out a 1% gain to nearly 12 million, Circana data reveals. DF