Report: Private brands make up nearly 20 percent of frozen dessert sales
Ice cream is among the largest supermarket food categories — one of only 10 with double-digit billion dollar sales, according to Rockville, Md.-based market research publisher Packaged Facts in the report Frozen Desserts in the U.S., 9th Edition.
Given the high standing of ice cream among food categories in the grocery sector, it isn’t surprising that store brand products are so prominent, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all frozen dessert sales, the report stated. One reason that retailers want in on ice cream sales via their private label products is that ice cream is an expensive category for stores since it must be kept frozen and requires a lot of space to accommodate consumer demand for a plethora of varieties and novelties.
Sales of private label frozen desserts have grown steadily over the past few decades. In recent years, about two-thirds of consumers have come to accept that private label frozen desserts are equal in quality to name-brand frozen desserts, reported Packaged Facts, noting, “This perception is based in reality, as private label frozen desserts have been on a steady rise in terms of quality over the past three decades.”
The starting point in this upward trajectory was the increase in quality among branded frozen desserts, marked by the expansion of super-premium ice cream sales. “Economy and regular ice creams lost ground as consumers, once they had a taste of the ‘good stuff,’ had a hard time accepting anything else,” the report explained. “As a result, private label frozen desserts, which accounted for a lot of the low-end activity, were being squeezed out of the market. Viewing the success of premium products, retailers opted to get on the bandwagon, and the improvement of private label frozen desserts was underway.”
Looking ahead, there are good reasons to believe that private brand ice creams and other frozen desserts will continue to gain market share, Packaged Facts emphasized in the report. Retailers are expanding their offerings with more organic and natural products, as well as jumping on the clean label trend with products defined by the absence of artificial ingredients. Private brands are continuing to match branded products with regard to popular flavor trends as they emerge, “whether it’s Peanut Butter and Jelly from Wegman’s or Birthday Cake from H-E-B,” the report stated.
To learn more about and order the report, visit https://www.packagedfacts.com/food-beverage-market-c84.