What you need to know
The $13.7 billion ice cream and frozen novelties category has experienced modest growth over the last year and slow to no growth was expected to continue into 2024. Yet, like many other food and drink categories, the sheltering in place stages of the pandemic are proving to be a tailwind for the mature and crowded category. And, the easing of those mandates will likely lead into the primary seasonal summer months where the category naturally flourishes. While ice cream and frozen novelties may not necessarily be considered an essential, brands can still become a self-care partner during this time and in, perhaps more importantly, the subsequent fallout.
Key issues covered in this Report
Ice cream and frozen novelty brands provide comfort, nostalgia and support to anxious US consumers
Brands will need to respond to changes in fundamental food and drink shopping in a post-COVID-19 landscape
Indulgence is key, sending better for you formulations back to basics
Frozen novelties can help the category keep pace with snack competitors
This Report was written in March 2020, and updated on April 25, 2020 with the COVID-19 implications.
Definition
This Report examines retail sales of ice cream and frozen novelties (often referred to as “frozen treats” in combination for the sake of brevity). For the purposes of this Report, the ice cream and frozen novelties market has been segmented as follows:
Ice cream/frozen dairy dessert (including gelato)
Frozen novelties (eg ice cream bars, sandwiches, cones, popsicles and the like, all with the advantage of hand-held convenience, single portions/portion control and snack friendliness)
Frozen yogurt and dairy alternatives (including non-dairy items made from soy or other dairy alternatives)
Sherbet, sorbet and ices
Packaged and unpackaged ice cream sold through restaurants, ice cream parlors, street vendors/food carts and other foodservice venues are excluded.
