The competition among ice cream brands remains fierce, as some scramble to answer the call for “healthy indulgence” and others seek to grab attention with unique flavors and premiumization. What do the numbers tell us? It’s a mixed bag for ice cream right now, with some brands showing strong sales gains, and some other brands posting notable sales declines. Meanwhile, the data show a comeback for frozen novelties.
Dollar sales in the ice cream/sherbet category were up just 0.2% during the 52 weeks ending Nov. 4, 2018, to $6.8 billion, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Unit sales fared slightly better — up 1.1% to 1.8 billion. On the flip side, the frozen novelties category saw dollar sales increase 4.2% to $5.2 billion, and unit sales improved 2.3% to 1.6 billion.