30 July 2008 – French ice cream sales are continuing on a downward trend which began in 2007 and is only partly attributable to the weather, local media report.
Food international giants Unilever and Nestlé are fighting over the lucrative French ice cream market, worth 2 billion euros a year. Unilever, the world leader in the ice cream segment, is also number one in France, with brands such as Magnum, Cornetto, Carte d’Or and Miko.
Although it is true that the weather can play a part in frozen dairy product sales, prices are also a determining factor, according to Unilever executive and French Ice Cream Association President Christophe Loison. One Magnum ice cream bar, for example, retails at an average €1.80 in Italy, but its price can reach €4 in some French outlets.
Only in France do retailers and distributors apply such hefty price rises, Mr Loison said. Unilever is urging retailers to drop prices in a bid to boost ice cream consumption outside of French households, which currently accounts for 50% of all ice cream sales in France. The issue has taken on increasing importance during the past year, which has seen manufacturers pass raw material and energy price rises on to customers.
The French market holds serious development potential, Mr Loison was quoted as saying. Unilever’s share of the market has been steadily increasing, from 25% in 2006 to 28% during the first half of 2008. The food giant targets a 30% share by 2009, but it will have to contend with arch rival Nestlé, stores’ own brands and competition from those non-frozen dairy desserts which the French are so keen on. They eat those 42 times per year on average, seven times as often as ice creams.