There once was a time when the Snickers brand could be found only in the candy aisle. The same goes for Tastykake, which was exclusively situated in baked goods; and for Snyder's of Hanover, which was located only in the salty snacks section.
Today, this is no longer the case. A rising number of co-branded and licensed products is giving these and other brands exposure in a different part of the store: the ice cream department.
Co-branded products have an advantage over the many other new items hitting the market because they have instant recognition. After all, consumers are more likely to try a new item that is related to a food or confection they already purchase, retailers told SN.
"When a customer sees a Snickers ice cream bar and they have tried the Snickers candy bar, they know the flavor profile and what to expect," said Keith Shannon, frozen foods category manager, Schnuck Markets, St. Louis.
Ice cream manufacturers have been quick to jump on the co-brand trend.
Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream, Green Bay, Wis., a unit of Unilever, has introduced six new candy brand flavors that combine Breyers premium ice cream with top-selling Mars candies like Snickers, M&M's and Twix.
Good Humor-Breyers also offers other co-branded flavors, such as Fudgsicle Ice Cream, Creamsicle Ice Cream, Oreo Ice Cream and Breyers With Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Ice Cream.
Turkey Hill Dairy, Lancaster, Pa., has expanded distribution of its Creamy Commotions line in supermarkets throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Previously, it was available only in the Lancaster area. The line features eight flavors created in partnership with several of the nation's treat makers, including the Tasty Baking Co., Denali Flavors, Snyder's of Hanover, Baby Ruth, Jana's Cookies and Gertrude Hawk Chocolates.
Some selections are Tastykake Peanut Butter Kandy Kake, Snyder's of Hanover Chocolate Pretzel and Gertrude Hawk Graham Slam.
"Customers tell us they like the powerful taste combination of Turkey Hill ice cream and well-known treats that have a following all their own," said Lisa Hutchinson, Turkey Hill's marketing manager.
Vince Melchiorre, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Tasty Baking Co., Philadelphia, agreed.
"Many people have told us they enjoy eating Tastykakes and ice cream together," said Melchiorre. "Now they can buy them together, and have a premium ice cream with all the flavor of their favorite Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes."
Even super-premium manufacturers are getting into the game, including Haagen-Dazs, which offers Bailey's Irish Creme ice cream.
The trust factor that comes with such popular brands as Snickers and Tastykake can mean all the difference between which ice cream or novelty shoppers put in their baskets, retailers reported.
"Consumers may get peace of mind in knowing what to expect from a Snickers ice cream, since they're so used to seeing that brand up front," said Norm Bowers, manager of sales and operations, dairy/bakery/ice cream, Unified Western Grocers, Los Angeles. Unified is a retailer-owned grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the Western United States.
The new slate of co-branded ice creams comes at a time when the ice cream category could be performing better. Ice cream sales cooled 1.9% to $4.3 billion in food stores for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2003, according to Information Resources Inc., Chicago. Novelties fared much better, generating $2.3 billion in dollar sales in food stores for the same period -- a 6.3% increase.
Some retailers attributed the decline to the low-carbohydrate trend. Higher dairy prices are also expected to impact consumption levels. The National Ice Cream Retailers Association, Rolling Meadows, Ill., is predicting that a number of factors -- political unrest and natural disasters overseas, as well as price fluctuations in the U.S. dairy industry -- will likely boost prices between 6% and 20% in the coming months. Some retailers, including Friendly Ice Cream Corp., Wilbraham, Mass., are shrinking the size of their packages while raising the cost.
Many ice cream manufacturers are using co-brands to appeal to consumers who want an occasional indulgence, regardless of price or diet. Their advantage over other new products comes in large part from the mere mention of an established brand on a product package, said Kenny Kane, store manager at a Dahl's unit in Merle Hay, Ill.
"Co-branded items give a product an added image of quality," he said.
To spur impulse sales of co-branded selections, Kane plans to merchandise several co-branded ice creams and novelties in the front end of his store. The items will be carried in a new refrigerated/frozens case located four feet from checkout.
"We're going to merchandise them up front, just like a pack of gum," he said.
The front-end refrigerated/frozens unit got its start about a year ago as a way to increase impulse sales of submarine sandwiches. The concept was so well-received that Kane opted to add frozens this summer.
"We decided to try an ice cream," Kane said, adding that co-branded flavors should do well in the location.
Unified is promoting co-brands in a different way. The company just kicked off a mobile ice cream sampling campaign called El Paletero, which is Spanish for "the ice cream man." The program uses an ice cream truck that travels to the parking lots of Unified's retail stores. The campaign will run through September.
"The sampling truck encourages our shoppers to go down the ice cream aisle," Bowers said.
Shoppers who visit the truck are offered product samples and coupons. They are also given a premium, such as a hat or shirt, if they come back to the truck with a proof of purchase for one of the featured items.
"By letting our customers try a certain flavor, we hope to build brand recognition," he said.
Snickers, M&M's, Twix and other co-branded ice creams are especially conducive to this promotional tool, as sampling can help turn price-sensitive consumers into loyal buyers, said Bowers.
"Co-branded products are usually sold at a premium price. Sampling entices shoppers to spend that kind of money," he said.
Co-branded items perform well at Unified, where Twix, M&Ms, Snickers and other Good Humor-Breyers ice creams maintain the lion's share of shelf space.
"We've got the Twix, Snickers and other Breyers co-brands in distribution in most of our stores," he said. "There's a lot of excitement about them."
Along with products like these, Bowers cited demand for another type of co-branded item: product licenses. These products blend a well-known ice cream brand with a popular entertainment brand. SuperHeroes, including Spider-Man and The Hulk, are big hits this year, following in the steps of Pokemon and Rug Rats from years past.
One drawback of licensed products is that they have a lifespan of three years, at best, said Bowers. To get the most from a license, Unified makes sure it keeps abreast of the latest trends so it catches a rising star as soon as it enters the market.
"We put emphasis on getting products to market as fast as possible," he said. "We can't get into it a year late."
While co-branded and licensed items are carried and promoted at Schnuck Markets, they aren't exactly taking the ice cream category by storm, according to Shannon. Rather, the new low-carb ice creams are the big category trend, he said.
Schnuck is carrying about 50 more stockkeeping units of low-carb ice cream this year than it did last year.
"In the frozens department, ice cream, novelties and frozen dinners really took a hit from the low-carb trend. So now most of the new products in these areas are low-carb," said Shannon.
That's not to say co-brands and licenses can't succeed. Shannon is looking forward to the arrival of a frozen novelty featuring the character "Stitch" from the Disney movie "Lilo and Stitch."
"The 'Stitch' character is highly recognizable and should perform well," he said.
Licenses with less brand recognition have had trouble holding their own at Schnuck. Shannon named Disney's "Triples" as an example. The novelty didn't perform well because customers didn't understand what it was all about.
"A co-brand can help sales, but it has to be something that the customer is familiar with," he stated.
Another challenge in the co-branded/licensed arena is manufacturers can overextend their budgets when they buy the rights for a license.
