Ice cream market slows down in 2012

The ice-cream market slowed this year. In addition to rainfall and lower temperatures in the first half, the economy has not helped. The disposable income for impulse purchases, like the ice pop is more scarce. In the consumer's pocket, the ice cream, which was almost 13 percent more expensive this year, played in space with the mobile phone.
The growth of the volume sold in this year should reach 5%, trademark last year, when the industry produced 1.16 billion liters. The sector, which comprises about 10 thousand enterprises, including the informal, grossed $ 4 billion in 2011. "Our greatest enemy is the mobile, that dispute the available money in the pocket of the consumer," says the President of the Brazilian Association of ice cream (Abis), Eduardo Weisberg.
Still, the industry found space to readjust prices. According to the Brazilian Institute of geography and statistics (IBGE), which measures the country's official inflation (IPCA), the price of ice cream rose 12.68% between January and November-in the same period, the IPCA rose 5.01%. Last year, when the IPCA was discharged from 6.50%, the price of ice cream gave a leap of 16.41 percent.
In this scenario of prices over-salted, the regional ice cream grow more than the industry average. The market is dominated by multinational Unilever, which owns brands Kibon, Nestle, which together hold more than 70% of the market. But the smaller, regional, can strengthen its operations with cheaper products and different flavors such as chestnut, tapioca, bakuri, taperebá.
The Zeca 's, brand of Pernambuco, with 37 years in the market, increases presence in eight of the nine Northeastern States. "The purchasing power has improved in the region. The bottles of two-liter ice cream and frozen desserts have become part of the weekly shopping, "says the entrepreneur Paul Darragh, owner of Zeca's 21 years ago. This year he released ten flavors of frozen desserts. And their prices are lower than those of ice cream sold by Nestlé and Unilever.
"We believe that there is a lot of opportunity that has not been explored by major brands, such as offer quality products with price 25% smaller than those of the leading brands", says the CEO of Silver, Caesar Bergamini, paulista brand that operates in the markets of Sao Paulo and Rio and estimates holds 6% of the market. The Silver has in its portfolio the Max, similar to Magnum ice cream Kibon, Mega, and Nestle.
The Silver, based in Itupeva (SP), inaugurating its new plant, in the first quarter of 2013. The revenues of r $ 90 million in 2011, is expected to grow 15% this year. Currently the Silver, with 25 thousand points of sale, plans to reach 40 million in five years. "Consumers must have easy access to ice cream," he says.
The distribution is a crucial factor in this industry. Have control over the refrigerated trucks to 35 degrees negatives that leave the factory towards the point of sale is important. Unilever, which owns brands Kibon, leader with more than 50% of the market, according to Nielsen, decided in July to eliminate the most important plazas distributors-São Paulo and Rio-to increase your margin for negotiation with the major networks. Nestle faces problems in Natal and Joao Pessoa (see this page).
The Zeca's has a fleet of 82 trucks and more than 280 employees. Their vendors, in addition to the negotiations at the point of sale, clean each freezer, kept on lending, and give the quality of the products. "The ice cream has to be monitored. The greater the distance, the worse the business, "says Oliveira. He estimates that in the market of Northeastern is ahead of Nestlé.
For this year, predicts an increase between 27% and 30% in revenue and 18% in production. He has 7.8 thousand customers. The retailers Walmart, Sugarloaf and g. Barbosa order to it their own brands of ice cream.
In supermarkets, the two-liter pot still is the sales leader. Kibon and Nestlé have released three new flavors this year, each. At Walmart, according to Director of perishables Luciano Nunes, the premium lines, light-based and yogurt are gaining space in shopping carts.