"On Special" is a monthly look at evolving store categories with insights on how different grocers are capitalizing on top trends.
Nothing says summer like ice cream, and grocers are not only dishing out more offerings but also finding ways to boost loyalty.
While summer ice cream is often associated with local shops and ice cream trucks, grocers are a top place for purchasing the frozen treat, with 84% of consumers buying ice cream from grocery stores, according to data from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and Research America, Inc.
Ice cream and frozen treats are one of the categories of summer staples with the highest brand loyalty among consumers, according to a report from 84.51°, Kroger’s data-analytics unit. In a promising sign that shopper loyalty is strengthening for those sweets, more than a fifth (21%) of surveyed consumers said they are more loyal to their preferred ice cream and frozen treat brands than a year ago, 84.51° found.
With summer here, here are some of the ways food retailers are aiming to make the popular frozen dessert stand out even more.
Data insights
Totaling $7.8 billion, ice cream and sherbet sales were up 3% for the last 52 weeks ending June 2, compared to the same period a year ago, according to Circana data cited by 210 Analytics. Units, however, slipped by nearly 1%.
Research from 84.51° noted that ice cream has seen a slight dip in units for the past several years, mainly due to lower household penetration.
Inflation has primarily fueled ice cream’s small sales growth, the firm noted.
The global ice cream market hit $76 billion in 2023, according to Fortune Business Insights, which projects the market will grow by more than two-thirds within the next 10 years.
The busiest production months for ice cream are March through September, according to the IDFA.
Stand out grocers
Sweetening up private label
At the end of April, Walmart debuted a new private label line called bettergoods — and the brand includes a large assortment of plant-based ice creams priced at under $5.
The retailer’s bettergoods line has three key components: culinary experience, plant-based and “made without,” and the timing couldn’t be better for summer shoppers as they continue to seek out private label goods.
The plant-based ice cream options include blueberry swirl oat milk, salted caramel oat milk, coffee oat milk and mint chocolate chip oat milk. Bettergoods has options for dairy lovers as well, including strawberries and cream, pistachio salted caramel and dulce de leche.
How Publix is rolling into summer
The grocer kicked off June by debuting limited-edition ice cream flavors available throughout the summer, including a flavor from last year that Publix’s associates voted to bring back. This summer’s specialty ice cream options include chocolate cookie quarry, lemon berry bliss, coffee almond fudge and more.
Publix also knows a surefire way to make ice cream taste even better — getting it straight from the ice cream truck. The grocer will bring its own truck to 10 different cities across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee during June and early July. Along with the limited edition ice cream flavors, the truck stops also had a photo booth, games and music.
You get a cone! And you get a cone!
Kroger celebrated the start of the 2024 summer season by giving away 45,000 pounds of ice cream on June 20 — the Summer Solstice. Shoppers could sign up for a free pint of Kroger Brand ice cream with a limited-time, single-use digital coupon. Redeemable flavors included mint chocolate chip, vanilla, chocolate chip and “Tie Dye Burst” with vanilla, cherry and blue moon swirls.
What's trending?
Selling summer
Buying ice cream is often a default for consumers once the weather heats up, but there are certain consumer groups grocers can market towards to boost sales.
According to the IDFA, nearly all (94%) of the association’s survey respondents said that ice cream flavor is the most important consideration, followed by price and the size of the container.
Pails — ice cream containers that are roughly 6 quarts — saw the most growth during the last 52 weeks ending June 8, with a 35% sales increase and 38% unit increase compared to a year ago, marking the second consecutive year of sales growth for the pail size, 84.51° found. More households buying pails drove the sales increase recently, the data firm found, noting that vanilla is the top pail flavor, followed by chocolate and then Neopolitan.
Where people buy ice cream can impact their buying decisions. Shoppers spend more when they buy ice cream in-store but purchase more units per trip for delivery or pickup orders, 84.51° found.
Scooping up loyalty
Thirty percent of consumers surveyed in March said they expect to buy more sweets, which include items like ice cream, chocolate, cookies and candy, under store brands in the next 12 months, according to research from FMI — The Food Industry Association.
The rollout of private label offerings that meet dietary needs as well as limited-edition flavors are steps in the right direction for grocers looking to capitalize on the ice cream craze. Target, for example, includes a variety of flavors for dairy and non-dairy ice cream under its Favorite Day brand.
