FrozenFoodAge.com |

Which is winning the hearts and stomachs of American consumers: super-premium and indulgent varieties of ice creams, or the lower calorie, lower fat, better-for-you varieties?

"On the average, items with a health claim have been outperforming full-flavor items," says Jeannette Castaneda, spokesperson for Wakefern Food Corp., Edison, N.J. which operates the ShopRite supermarket chain.

Castaneda says Weight Watchers and Skinny Cow are the leading brands in the health segment. "Other trends in the novelty category include portion control and snack-size."

"Better-for-you category sales were up through 2007," says Tim Hopkins, vice president and general manager, Friendly's Ice Cream Corp., Wilbraham, Mass. "Our light ice cream sales are up by almost 50%." He sees "the frozen yogurt and single serve novelties categories growing due to the health trends in the category."

Hopkins says Friendly's is "capitalizing on the healthy fruit trend with our new Fruit Swirls line, which is a blend of fruit sherbet and creamy ice cream" with flavors including Blueberries 'n Crème and Orange Crème.

"We know from extensive consumer research that ice cream enthusiasts are looking for a 'better-for-you' option but don't want to sacrifice taste and the feeling of indulgence," says Melissa Mattilio, consumer marketing manager, Turkey Hill Dairy, Conestoga, Pa.

Turkey Hill has enriched its better-for-you category with calcium and Vitamin D, including its Light Recipe Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt Smoothies and Frozen Yogurt flavors. New in the Light Recipe line this year are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Banana Split flavors.

Last year Turkey Hill introduced Duetto, a blend of soft serve ice cream and Venice Premium Ice. The product did so well that this year Turkey Hill decided to release a line of Venice Premium Ice on its own, now available in Raspberry, Mango, Lemon & Cherry, and Pomegranate Blueberry with Açaí flavors.

"We hope the Venice Premium Ice line will build on the success of Duetto and provide a treat for consumers with stricter dietary concerns as well as those who are just looking for a new indulgence," says Mattilio.

Turkey Hill is running an outdoor campaign in key markets for its new Duetto flavors and Venice Premium Ice, and expects to distribute close to 1 million samples of the new products to consumers in 2008.

Blue Bell Creameries, Brenham, Texas, has added two new flavors to its Light Ice Cream line, Ultimate Neapolitan and Chocolate French Silk, and a new frozen yogurt flavor, The Great Divide, a combination of Dutch chocolate and vanilla yogurt.

Carl Breed, marketing director, says that Blue Bell's "health-claim category as a whole is up double digits for the year, and each health-claim [sub]category is experiencing positive growth independently."

Breyers launched a fat-free version of Breyers Double Churn ice cream, which was very well received, says David Burrows, brand building director, Breyers/Klondike/Popsicle/Good Humor, Unilever Ice Cream, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Four new flavors of Double Churn Free will roll out this year, extending the line to eight flavors total.

"We're also expecting consumers to be excited about the introduction of the Breyers Pure Fruit Pomegranate Blends bars," says Burrows.

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Oakland, Calif., has had considerable success with the rollout of its Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned American Idol Light ice cream. Sales reached $26 million for the 52 weeks ending April 20, 2008, a 257% increase over the same year-ago period, according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago.

Five limited edition American Idol Flavors debuted in February 2007. Fans were able to vote for their favorite flavor at Slowchurned.com, with the winning flavor earning a permanent spot in the Slow Churned lineup. Last year's winning flavor was "Take the Cake," featuring yellow cake-flavored light ice cream, a blue frosting swirl and multi-colored sprinkles. Dreyer has continued the promotion this year, with five new limited edition flavors available January through July.

Dreyer's/Edy's Loaded is also proving to be a hit for Dreyer's Grand on the indulgent side of the ledger. In fact, despite the growth in better-for-you products, consumers are still drawn to premium ice creams.

Sales of Dreyer's/Edy's Loaded were $54 million for the 52 weeks ending April 20, 2008.

Loaded is a line of premium ice creams featuring "mix-ins"—ice creams mixed in with other non-ice cream products. The line's five current flavors include two that are cross-branded with Nestlé Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which includes Nestlé's Toll House Morsels, and Nestlé Butterfinger, which includes pieces of the candy along with a peanut butter swirl.

Burrows says Unilever is also doing some mix-ins and co-branding. "Consumers continue to want a wide variety of indulgent products. New this year in our premium Overload! line is Breyers Waffle Cone, a vanilla frozen dairy dessert with caramel swirl and fudge-covered waffle cone pieces. Additional new indulgent products include the Good Humor King Reese's Bar and the King Heath Bar."

As part of its centennial celebration in 2007, Blue Bell Creameries, Brenham, Texas, held a "Taste of the Country Flavor Contest." South Carolina resident Jane Hegley supplied the grand prize-winning recipe for "Southern Hospitality," a blend of homemade vanilla with chunks of pineapples, roasted pecans and a strawberry sauce swirl.

Southern Hospitality is just one of seven new ice cream flavors that Blue Bell is introducing this year, says Breed. Through May, the company had already introduced four of those flavors, including Centennial Cupcake (in honor of the 100th Anniversary of 4-H, and featuring a picture of 4-H members on the label).

"These flavors are heavy hitters and have all contributed nicely to the category by bringing uniqueness and excitement to the freezer aisle," says Breed.

Blue Bell continues to offer ice cream in a full half gallon container, despite the recent industry trend to downsize packaging. "Many other brands are now offering only 48 ounces of ice cream in each container," Breed says. "A half gallon contains 64 ounces of ice cream. That is a difference of a full pint of ice cream. Other companies have decreased their carton sizes yet kept their price the same or in most cases even increased their price."