Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts in the US

2020 IMPACT

Home seclusion and indulgence trends benefit take-home dairy ice cream during lockdown, while impulse and unpackaged ice cream suffer in Q2

Ice cream and frozen desserts experienced an upturn in demand in Q2 2020, driven by the larger categories of bulk dairy ice cream and multi-pack dairy ice cream, as consumers turned to stocking up on indulgent and comforting treats and desserts during an anxious period, as they spent longer at home. The smaller category of ice cream desserts also experienced increasing demand, despite some consumers prioritising their spending and valuable freezer space on staple products during a stockpiling period.

Indulgent premium brands benefit from indulgence trend in Q2 but Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings retains overall leadership

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc retained its overall leadership of ice cream and frozen desserts, holding leading positions in the key category of take-home dairy ice cream (both bulk and multi-pack formats, gaining value share in the latter) with brands such as the premium Häagen-Dazs (for General Mills Inc) which recorded stronger value sales in Q2 as consumers turned to indulgence, Dreyer's/Edy's and Outshine. However, whilst it retained its lead of impulse ice cream, in line with the latter’s performance during lockdown with consumers remaining at home for longer periods, it recorded declining sales in Q2 as did all players present in this category.

E-commerce provides potential boost to sales

In line with limited impulse purchasing and on-the-go consumption occasions during lockdown, demand through smaller distribution channels which rely on these sales-driving factors such as convenience stores, forecourt retailers and independent small grocers lost notable value share and recorded significant sales declines. Conversely, supermarkets and hypermarkets benefited from certain stockpiling tendencies during this time, with consumers purchasing bulk dairy ice cream to keep at home for indulgent moments during the pandemic.

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