ICE CREAM INNOVATIONS

BARBARA MURRAY

New fun flavors and packaging changes are setting the stage for a potentially strong year for ice cream sales, retailers say.

John Ayers, owner of Dairy Farms, Lansdale, Pa., distributor and broker, is proud of having obtained the new Breyers Ice Cream Parlor line of 16 flavors quickly, having shipped it to all his customers Feb. 7. "We all strive to be first," he said. "The reason being, that's what drives sales. If it comes out Feb. 7 and you get in the cases in the middle of April, you lose all that initial pull."

The Ice Cream Parlor line has a new color, red, for the boxes and a new rounded shape to the container, which has a lift-off lid, and contains 56 ounces rather than the usual 64. Its flavors are multiple ingredients, such as Strawberry Shortcake, English Toffee and Banana Split.

Jeff Quintana, general manager for sales, Southern California Division, Unified Western Grocers, Commerce, Calif., predicts more "fun flavors," like those in the Ice Cream Parlor line. "Their strategy is to expand the appeal of Breyers beyond the purist consumer to a 'fun seeker' by offering a line loaded with inclusions and variegates, which could be flavors, ribbons, stripes, or nuts.

"Breyers has led the way," Quintana said. Suggested retail price for the 56-ounce item is $5.29, he said. Flavors will tie in with cookie and candy brands, and advertising will support the launch, he said.

In the supermarkets, Ayers said items are grouped by brand, because of promotional activity. The new red box Breyers products have to be separated in the freezer from the black box, to prevent consumer confusion if one goes on sale but the other does not. "Their execution is to promote them at different times, and use the excitement of the new flavors to drive up the margins on the new products," Ayers said.

Bryan K. Nichols, frozens category manager for Marsh Supermarkets, Indianapolis, said ice cream will be two of the features this month, National Frozen Food Month -- known as "Marsh Madness" there. Breyers was on sale this week, at two half-gallons for $6, and Marsh Premium private label will sell at two for $4 later in the month.

Turkey Hill, Conestoga, Pa., is redoing its more than 80-flavor line with new half-gallon containers, oblong tapered packages which are easier to stock for both retailer and consumer, said Lisa Gochnauer, a marketing associate at Turkey Hill. She said consumers wanted a package that was not as deep or messy to scoop, and that would fit in a home freezer door. The lid now has a plastic rim, which is easier to reseal, and they are color-coded, with a red rim for premium ice cream, blue for light ice cream, and more. The new packages are going into grocery stores now, she said.

Turkey Hill also has new graphics, a new logo, and has gone to a four-color farm scene on the box. The ice cream line has stayed stable, Gochnauer said, although the half-gallon sherbet is new this year, adding Orange Grove and Fruit Rainbow, with Cherry Orchard as a feature flavor.

Plain vanilla is not left in the dust by all these new flavors. Julie's Organic, Portland, Ore., won the American Tasting Award of Excellence for its vanilla product; and Out of a Flower, Dallas, Texas, won best new product last summer at the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, New York, show for its vanilla.

Unified's overall ice cream sales have been consistently strong, stronger than in prior years, said Quintana, "and we've seen the growth in premium and superpremium, in flavors like Dulce de Leche, a caramel-vanilla combo made by Breyers, Blue Bunny, Haagen-Dazs and Dreyers. We are continuing to see indulgence on the full-fat, premium and superpremium categories.

"With regard to our private label, we have two tiers, Golden Creme and Foremost labels, and our sales are stable," he said. "We continue to focus on that as a private-label program with a quality ice cream."

In fact, private label is the top "brand" and top-selling ice cream vendor listed by Information Resources Inc., Chicago. As a category, ice cream had almost $4 billion in sales for the year ended Jan. 30, 2000, an increase of 7.2%. Unit sales were up by 1.8%. Private-label ice cream had sales of $941.3 million, an increase of 8% in dollars but only 0.6% in units. Breyers was the top name brand, with $505.2 million in sales, an increase of 11.6%, and it increased its unit sales by 4.5%.

Dreyers and Edy's Grand ice cream was next, with sales of $399.3 million, up 5.1%, with units up by 1.4%. Blue Bell Ice Cream is third among the brands, IRI said, with sales of $218.7 million, up 7.4%, while its unit sales increased 1.4%. Haagen-Dazs is fourth, with sales of $176.8 million, an increase of 4.6% while units went up by 2.8%. Ben & Jerry's is next, with sales up 13.4% to $161 million, while its unit sales went up by 9.7%.

Turkey Hill, with sales of $105.3 million, went up 20.6% in dollars and 19.1% in unit sales, the best percentage growth among the brands. Wells Blue Bunny, Healthy Choice and Dreyers and Edy's Grand light ice cream rounded out the top brands, in that order.

Kevin Mills, assistant manager of a big Hy-Vee store in Austin, Minn., said his store is beginning to change the way private-label ice cream is stocked, integrating it with the brands. "The problem we need to address is private label does not have the variety or the stockkeeping units that major label does. We have talked to our supplier, and they will make an adjustment on price, in the private brands. Our pricing in private label was getting a little too close to major label," he said.

"Without the variety of the private label, we may lose, but it will be our challenge to sign it and support it with ads. We'll be all right," Mills said. Hy-Vee's private label is called Hy-Vee, and is made by Wells Blue Bunny, Mills said. "Our name is our most valuable asset, and we use it accordingly," Mills said. "It's a fantastic ice cream."

Toppings sales, if anything have decreased at Hy-Vee, but Hershey's dominates, Mills said. His store had an eight-foot section at one time, but it's smaller now, based on slacking consumer demand.

According to Susan Ruland, vice president of communications, International Ice Cream Association, Washington, D.C., with the right ice-cream eating weather this summer, the 2000 season should do just fine.

Premium and superpremium have been driving the category the last five years, she added. Low-fat and nonfat ice creams and frozen yogurts make up about 33% of the total volume, and are essential pieces, "but the low-fat is not showing the same kind of growth that you see in the superpremium and premium, which goes back to 'taste, taste, taste' and the love people have for ice cream," Ruland said.