With record demand, ice cream market exceeds US$ 1.1 billion
Valor Econômico
Winter is just around the corner but the ice cream industry is still celebrating the historical sales reached last year and in the first quarter of 2010. The combination of a hot summer and money in the hands of the population in 2009 made the annual sales of the product exceed the mark of R$ 2 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) for the first time. "The progress of the market in 2009 was much bigger than the growth that was being registered in recent years", says Robert Hein Schermers, Marketing Officer of Kibon, brand that belongs to Unilever, with 47% of market share, according to Nielsen. The sales were so good for the company that in the report of the results announced by the multinational last week, the performance of the lines Frutare and Magnun in Brazil were pointed as one of the main factors for the two-digit growth in Latin America.
That is not surprising. In the first three months of the year, thanks to the high temperatures that continued until the end of March, the consumer continued having a lot of ice cream. According to Nielsen, only in the first quarter the market had already operated R$ 1.255 billion (US$ 697.2 million). Just to have an idea of the size, that value is the almost the same of the amount sold, for instance, during the 12 months of 2003, when the earnings of the sector amounted to R$ 1.227 billion (US$ 399.5 million). Compared to the same months of last year, the result of the quarter was 33% better. In volume, 141.7 thousand tons of ice were consumed - 28% more than in January, February and March 2009.
Encouraged by the pace of the market, Nestlé, ranked second in the sector, is increasing the distribution of the line of Sorvetes Garoto, which now lands in the capital of São Paulo. Since the launch in 2007 until mid-2008 the popsicles of the brand were only sold in Espírito Santo, where the headquarters of Garoto, acquired by Nestlé in 2002, is located. In the second half of 2008, the line was increased to Minas Gerais, Rio and Salvador. During the summer, the ice creams of the brand - that are the cold version of the chocolate candy and bars such as Talento and Serenata de Amor - were sold on the coast of the State of São Paulo, the biggest consumer market of the product in the country. Only the metropolitan region is responsible for 23% of the domestic consumption, according to Nielsen.
Another company that bets on the expansion is Jundiá, ranked third in the São Paulo market. "We grew 30% in sales volume last year and that is the reason why we are investing R$ 10 million (US$ 5.6 million) in a new plant in order to triple our capacity at the Itupeva unit in the interior of São Paulo", says Cesar Bergamini, Director of the company, headquartered in Jundiaí. Today, the plant produces 1 million liters a month. The secret of Jundiá, according to Bergamini, is to sell its ice cream for a value 30% below the leading brands. "Many people who did not eat ice cream can now buy it because the price range of our products allows such access", says the officer of the company that sold R$ 50 million (US$ 25.4 million) last year.
Thanks to companies like Jundiá, which expects to grow 20% this year, the market is more competitive. It is more sophisticated, too. "Ten years ago there were only popsicles and the two-liter pot line. There wasn't much more than that", recalls Schermers, of Unilever. Today, companies bet on more sophisticated launches and in packs with different volumes. Unilever, for instance, launched a "Pack" version of the Frutare popsicles to be sold in supermarkets. It is a box with six popsicles that are somewhat smaller than the regular size to please the consumer who likes the well-known popular packs. At the other end, the company launched the Momentos line with premium ice cream and refined ingredients - but in packs of 460 ml.