The take-home ice cream market was last examined in Market Intelligence, January 2000. The market has seen steady volume and increasing value in the period 1996-2001, boosted by the growth of the super-premium sector. This report examines the hypothesis that: "a structural change is taking place in the ice cream market as the take-home sector gains sales from the single impulse sector."

Other Mintel reports of relevance include:

- Sugar Confectionery, Market Intelligence, April 2001

- Boxed Chocolates, Market Intelligence, December 2000

- Chocolate Confectionery, Market Intelligence, November 2000

- Ice Cream Catering, Leisure Intelligence, July 2000

- Chilled Pot Desserts, Market Intelligence, July 2000

and the forthcoming:

- Impulse Ice Cream, Market Intelligence - UK Report, February 2002

- Frozen Desserts, Market Intelligence - UK Report, February 2002.

Definitions

This report covers the market for take-home ice cream, which is defined as any product which comprises primarily ice cream and is intended for consumption in the home, as opposed to an impulse purchase for immediate consumption. This includes:

- dairy ice cream and non-dairy ice cream of all flavours retailed in multiple serving packs (500ml or over) and multipacks of similar single-serve items (150ml)

- multipacks of single-serve impulse items, eg ten-packs of ice lollies

- complete ice cream desserts such as Wall's Viennetta, which are made primarily of ice cream but include some other ingredients such as nuts or biscuit

- sorbets and frozen yogurts.

The vast majority of the take-home ice cream covered in this report will be sold through grocers and freezer centres, ie the types of outlet where consumers traditionally purchase frozen foods for storage at home.

Other types of frozen ice cream products, for example gateaux made partly of ice cream, or part ice cream tub desserts, are mentioned in the text but are not included in market size data.

Excluded from this report are impulse ice cream purchases, as are sales of all ice cream and ice cream products through catering and leisure outlets.

For a product to be legally defined as ice cream, it should have a minimum fat content of 5% and contain not less than 2.5% milk protein. For anything below this level, an alternative descriptor is used, eg frozen dairy dessert or iced dessert, for low-fat products or those with a non-dairy base. In the case of dairy ice cream, the minimum 5% fat has to consist exclusively of milk fat, with no other type of fat present apart from that present in subsidiary ingredients such as eggs, flavouring, emulsifiers and stabilisers.

Ice cream manufacturers consider five factors to define the position of ice cream:

Ingredients: in particular, the proportional use of vegetable fat, butter, milk and cream. The quality of other added flavours and items such as fruit pieces, chocolate and syrup may add to the cost.

The 'overrun': technically, the amount of air which is incorporated into the mixture on freezing. The higher the percentage of air, the lighter the texture of the ice cream, the easier the ice cream is to scoop, and the lower the price. An overrun of 100%, for example, creates an ice cream which is 50% air. The proportion of air may vary from around 66% in the cheapest ice creams to around 20% in top-priced products.

The fat content: which varies from around 5% to 18%.

The price: an ice cream which is made from more expensive ingredients, with a lower overrun and a higher fat content will obviously tend to be higher priced. However, adjustments in the proportions of the ingredients and the overrun enable manufacturers to position ice cream lines at certain price points, perhaps to undercut the competition or meet the requirements of a retailer.

The packaging: cheaper ice cream is invariably packed in basic tubs of 1-litre or more, while the more expensive products are usually available in 500ml tubs and single-serve 150ml pots.

The different types of ice cream may, therefore, be defined as follows, although there is some overlap in these categories:

Low-fat ice cream has a fat content of 5.5-6%.

Standard ice cream is made from butter rather than cream and may also include some non-dairy fat. The fat content is usually around 6-12%, and the amount of air incorporated may account for between 50% and 66% of the total volume, to make it soft and light. Frequently packaged in 1- or 2-litre tubs or larger, it tends to be less expensive than ice creams with a greater percentage of cream.

Premium dairy ice cream has a higher proportion of cream and hence a fat content of 12-16%. It tends to have an overrun of around 100% to give it a light texture. It has a much higher price than standard ice cream, reflecting the higher-quality ingredients, and is typically retailed in 500ml or 1-litre tubs.

Super-premium dairy ice cream has the lowest overrun, incorporating as little as 20% air which gives a dense texture which may have to be thawed slightly prior to serving and eating. It is frequently made from milk and high-fat cream (double or Jersey cream is sometimes used) giving the highest fat content of 16-18%. It tends to be priced at over £6 per litre and packaged in 500ml tubs. It should be pointed out that trade uses more than one definition of products in this area. The luxury category includes super-premium plus some other products, notably tubs of ice cream bearing well-known chocolate confectionery brand names, such as Cadbury's or Mars, and high-quality own-label products.

Non-dairy ice cream does not include butter or cream, but is based on vegetable fats and soya product such as soya milk and tofu (soya curd). However, such products are often presented in a similar way to premium ice cream.

Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) unless otherwise stated.

Market sizes at 1996 prices are calculated using Mintel's Food deflator.

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Consumer research

In addition to the standard breaks, Mintel has analysed the consumer research in the following manner:

Lifestages are derived from analysis of the exclusive consumer research and are split into four main groups.

Pre-family	aged under 35 who are not parents
Family	aged 15-54 with at least one child aged under 16 still at home
Empty nesters	35-54 with no children aged under 16
Post-family	aged over 55.

As part of an ongoing policy to find new ways of analysing data, Mintel has created

Special Groups of consumers to typify consumer habits in the early years of the 21st century. Unlike the lifestage groups, these groups represent only sections of the population and do not account for all adults.

Benefit dependents	Es aged 35+ - those who are reliant solely on state benefits (around 10% of the adult population).
Families on a tight budget	these are working C2Ds with at least one child aged under 16 in the household - the majority have limited incomes which must be spent on a relatively large household (around 10% of the adult population).
Better-off families	these are working ABC1s with at least one child aged under 16 in the household (around 9% of the adult population).
Better-off empty nesters	these are ABC1s aged 35-64 who are working with no children aged under 16 living at home. They are, therefore, the classic no family/empty nesters with probably a high income that can be spent on themselves rather than on family (around 8% of the adult population).
Working managers	these are working ABs (around 9% of the adult population).
Working women	women in part- or full-time employment (around 21% of the adult population).

Abbreviations

ACNielsen MMS	For more information, contact Mary Sneddon at MMS on 01344 6275530.
BMRB	British Market Research Bureau
BOGOF	Buy-one-get-one-free
CTN	Confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents
NFS	National Food Survey
NPD	New product development
PDI	Personal disposable income
SPSS	Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
TGI	Target Group Index. For further details concerning this information, including data regarding readership patterns of users/purchasers and details of brands, please contact Peter Shreeve at BMRB International on 020 8566 5000.

01/2002