About this report
There is growing demand for indulgent ‘treats’ in the British diet and the £1.3 billion ice cream market is tapping into this demand with growing sales of luxury and premium ice creams at the expense of standard varieties. 14m adults buy ice cream as a treat.
There are unexploited opportunities for sorbets and frozen yogurts (part of the ‘healthy’ ice cream sector valued at £47m); as an estimated 21m and 23m adults respectively do not buy these products. Non-buyers tend towards over 45-year-olds in the less affluent C2DE group.
Ice cream suppliers need to ensure that they actively promote the category all year round, and not save their promotional spend just for summer, as 16m adults eat ice cream all year round.
Flavour is the deciding factor for over 22 million people when choosing what ice cream to buy. Ice cream lovers are adventurous as 14m of them like trying out different flavours, offering opportunities for manufacturers to encourage consumers to trial a wider selection of innovative flavours.
Around 6m consumers think that sorbets are healthier than traditional ice cream; these consumers are likely to be 35-54 years old in the more affluent AB socio-economic group.
Value for money is ever more important for consumers are they look to make their shopping budgets go further and just under 7m consumers feel that multi pack ice cream bars (e.g. Mars, Snickers) are good value for money.

Issues in the Market
Key themes
Definition
Market in Brief
Value sales continue to grow
A sustained healthy eating agenda
New product innovation
Consumer choices
Internal Market Environment
Key points
A dessert for all seasons?
Figure 1: UK Mean seasonal temperature (°C), 2004-09*
‘Naughty but nice’
Figure 2: Trends in eating desserts/treats, 2005-09
Striving for a healthy lifestyle
Figure 3: Trends in healthy lifestyles and eating habits, 2005-09
Better-for-you treats
Concerns over rising obesity levels
Figure 4: Current and projected levels of overweight and obese children in the UK, by age and gender, 2003 and 2010
Figure 5: Projection of obesity prevalence among adults in England, by gender, 2003-50
Broader Market Environment
Key points
Commodity price rises and government subsidies
Figure 6: UK farmgate price of milk, 2004-09
Cold storage
Figure 7: Household ownership of freezers (separate from refrigerator) and combined fridge/freezers, 2005-09
Demographic trends
Figure 8: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2004-14
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
Competitive Context
Key points
Competing indulgent treats
Figure 9: UK retail value sales of ice cream, desserts, fruit, yogurt, smoothies, chocolate confectionery and cake & cake bars, 2004-09
Sustaining sales of chocolate confectionery
Healthier options
Market Size and Forecast
Key points
Warm weather spells good news for sales in 2009
Figure 13: UK retail volume and value sales of ice cream, at current and constant prices, 2004-14
Figure 14: New product launches in a tub format, 2006-09*
Figure 15: UK retail sales of ice cream, by sector, 2007-09
Resurgence of frozen food category
New product launches
Rising cost per litre
Figure 16: Price (£) per litre, 2004-09
Factors used in the forecast
Segment Performance
Key points
Take-home ice cream
Figure 17: UK retail volume and value sales of take-home ice cream, at current and 2009 prices, 2004-14
A more indulgent offering
Figure 18: UK retail value sales of take-home ice cream, by type, 2007-09
Healthy treats
Handheld multipacks offer convenience
Impulse ice cream
Figure 19: UK retail volume and value sales of impulse ice cream, at current and 2009 prices, 2004-14
Chocolate snacks
Figure 20: UK retail volume and value sales of wrapped impulse and scooping ice cream, by type, 2007-09
Refreshment ice creams
Meeting the needs of children
Market Share
Key points
Unilever leads the ice cream market
Figure 21: Manufacturers’ value shares in take-home sales of ice cream, 2007-09
Figure 22: NPD in ice creams, Unilever percentage share of new product launches, 2006-09*
Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s add to growth of luxury ice creams
Brand extensions add to value sales growth
Figure 23: Manufacturers’ brand shares in sales of wrapped impulse ice cream, 2007-09
Companies and Products
Manufacturers and brands
Figure 24: Leading companies in the ice cream market in the UK and their brands, 2009
Major players
Fredericks Dairies
Figure 25: New products launched by Fredericks, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
General Mills
Figure 26: New products launched by General Mills, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
Green & Black’s
Figure 27: New products launched by Green & Black’s, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
Mars
Figure 28: New products launched by Mars, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
R&R Ice Cream
Figure 29: New products launched by R&R Ice Cream, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
Unilever
Figure 30: New products launched by Unilever, Q1 2008-Q2 2009
Own-label
Brand Communication and Promotion
Key points
Ice cream brands receive advertising support despite recession
Figure 42: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on ice cream, 2005-09*
TV plays a dominant role
Figure 43: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on ice cream, by medium, 2006-09*
Figure 44: Expenditure on cinema advertising for ice cream, by manufacturer and brand, 2006-09
Unilever reigns supreme
Figure 45: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on ice cream, by top ten manufacturers, 2006-09
Adspend is seasonal and mirrors new product launches
Figure 46: Average monthly NPD and adspend for ice cream, cumulative 2006-09*
Channels to Market
Key points
Multiples dominate the take-home market
Figure 47: UK retail value sales of take-home ice cream, by outlet type, 2007-09
Weather has greater impact on the impulse sector
Figure 48: UK retail value sales of wrapped impulse ice creams, by outlet type, 2007-09
Could this be the end of Mr. Whippy?
The Consumer – Usage
Key points
Tubs and blocks
Usage declining
Figure 49: Consumption of ice cream in tubs and blocks in the last 12 months, 2003-09
Tubs appeal to older consumers
Having some ‘me time’
Bars and sticks
Figure 50: Consumption of ice cream bars and sticks in the last 12 months, 2003-09
Light users of ice cream bars and sticks tend to be ABC1s
Parents are the ‘gatekeepers’
Figure 51: Consumption of ice lollies – 7-14-year-olds, 2003-09
A European context
Figure 52: Consumption of ice cream in tubs, blocks, bars and sticks in the last 12 months, by country, 2008
Figure 53: Percentage of new product launches, by country, 2006-09*
Appendix
Abbreviations
Appendix – Internal Market Environment
Figure 62: UK mean Seasonal monthly rainfall (mm), 2004-09*
Figure 63: UK mean monthly sunshine (total hours), 2004-09*
Figure 64: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, by demographics, 2009
Figure 65: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, by demographics, 2009
Figure 66: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, by demographics, 2009
Appendix – Who’s Innovating
Figure 67: New product launches in the ice cream category, 2006-09*
Figure 68: NPD in ice creams, percentage of new launches, by month, 2006-08
Figure 69: NPD in ice creams, percentage of launches, by type of launch, 2006-09*
Figure 70: NPD in ice creams, percentage of launches, by company, 2006-09*
Figure 71: NPD in ice creams, percentage of launches, by branded vs. own-label, 2006-09*
Appendix – The Consumer – Usage
Figure 72: Consumption of ice cream in tubs and blocks in the last 12 months, by demographics, 2009
Figure 73: Consumption of ice cream bars and sticks in the last 12 months, by demographics, 2009
Figure 74: Types of ice cream bars and sticks eaten in the last 12 months, 2007-09
Figure 75: Types of ice cream bars and sticks eaten in the last 12 months, by country, 2008