Dairy-based ice cream products made up the largest proportion of launches in the ice cream and desserts market in the past 12 months, in both private label (48% of launches) and across the market as a whole (51% of launches), according to new research by Gama Compass™
In general, water-based ice cream accounted for significantly less NPD (8% across the board), although this was slightly higher for private label brands (13% of launches).
A particularly interesting finding of Gama’s analysis was the prominence of premium branding in private label ice cream & desserts, compared to private label launches as a whole. While mid-range brands still formed the large majority of private label ice cream & dessert launches (81%), premium private label represented 18% of NPD in the market, compared to less than 10% across private label products as a whole.
In flavor terms, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla dominated the flavor profiles of launches in the ice cream & desserts market – this was the case both for the market in general and for private label launches in particular. Some differences emerged outside the top three, however, with milk chocolate and caramel more to the fore across the market as a whole, and raspberry and cream proving more popular in private label launches. In premium private label a similar pattern emerged, with flavors such as raspberry, lemon, coffee and dulce de leche (milk caramel) more prominent than in overall ice cream & dessert launches.
Meanwhile, average price points were the subject of some variation between private label brands and ice cream and desserts as a whole. Comparable in the water-based ice cream category, average prices were significantly lower in private label launches in the dairy-based ice cream category. The reverse proved true for desserts, however, with private label prices averaging 6% more than in across the board dessert launches.
Finally, a study of pack color choices revealed some notable differences between private label products and the market as a whole. Foremost among these was the prevalence of brown pack colors (15.5% of launches) and cyan / blue colors (16.6% of launches) across global ice cream & dessert launches. In private label launches, by contrast, black was especially popular as a main pack color, featuring on more than 10% of new products: a good proportion of this figure was accounted for by premium private label, where black was the color of choice for more than half of reported product introductions.
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