We All Scream for Ice Cream
30 March 2011
Technomic finds customization, complexity and portions driving frozen-dessert restaurant purchases.
A love affair with ice cream is perhaps just as American as that most iconic of desserts, apple pie—or even more so given the frequency with which we indulge in the creamy treat. More than half of consumers in a recent survey by trend-tracker Technomic said they eat vanilla ice cream at least once a month, and 46% said the same of chocolate.
While vanilla and chocolate dominate the ice -cream category, there are a multitude of milkshakes, sundaes, frozen yogurts, sorbets, gelatos and even tofu-based non-dairy dessert flavors that each has a special place in the hearts of consumers.
According to Mary Chapman, director at Technomic, there are several key factors when it comes to frozen desserts on restaurant menus. “Complexity, customization and portions are all very important. Operators need to differentiate their items from those offered by retailers, and they need to make the offerings available in various sizes to attract diners who are concerned with health, value, or who are simply too full to eat a large dessert.”
Technomic’s new Market Intelligence Report: Ice Cream mines Technomic’s exclusive consumer, menu and industry data to uncover insights and opportunities in frozen desserts and snacks. Interesting report findings include:
- Frozen-yogurt concepts occupy the top and bottom of the growth spectrum. All but one of the 10 fastest-growing chains were frozen-yogurt concepts, but other frozen-yogurt chains experienced some of the largest declines within the top 500 chains.
- Production of ice cream and frozen novelties in the retail sector is quite concentrated, with the top 10 manufacturers accounting for almost 70% of the total sales.
- Frozen desserts comprised 28.4% of all desserts on the menus tracked by Technomic in the first half of 2010.
Photo: Coco-Chocolate Chai Milkshake combines popular chai tea latte spiced with the traditional aromatics of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and clove blended with frosty-cold vanilla ice cream and coconut M&M’s® chocolate candies for a modern twist on a classic drugstore dessert. Served in an old fashioned soda glass, topped with whipped cream and more coconut M&M’s®. Courtesy of MARS Foodservices