

Information Resources Inc. reports that dollar sales of lowfat and skim milk jumped by more than 12% during the four weeks prior to June 17. It was the third month in a row in which dollar sales growth accelerated from what had been modest increases in the first quarter. Meanwhile, there has been an opposite movement in the sales-by-volume column. Volume and unit sales had actually started to grow in the last quarter of 2006 and in the early going of 2007, but they have dropped a bit since March. The good news is that sales are only dropping a bit, and considering that the cause of the price spike can be tied directly to tightening milk supplies, perhaps some tightening of retail sales naturally follows.
Of course we will continue to follow these trends closely to see if milk can hold onto the gains it made last year.

Looking at some of the top brands of frozen yogurt might give us a pretty good idea of why overall sales are up-it comes down to brand power and innovation. Dreyer’s recently introduced frozen yogurt under the Dreyer’s/Edy’s Slow Churned umbrella. A little push from Dreyer’s one of the nation’s top ice cream makers, goes a long way. Dreyer’s has market share that is second only to private label, and it experienced some healthy growth in the 52 weeks ended June 17.
Kemps, the frozen dessert arm of HP Hood, recently introduced Live and Healthy, a brand which boasts a live and active culture nutritional profile. Kemps is no stranger to the fro-yo category of course, and it has some muscle as well. The new line jumped right into the top ten.