Prepared or UHT custard, a sweet sauce that contains full cream milk, stabilisers, sugar, colorants and flavourants that have been processed at ultra-high temperatures grew in 2012 but the expected growth for the next two years is slightly lower.
In terms of channelling, more than half of prepared custard volumes are channelled through the retail sector. The wholesale sector is the next biggest sector to where prepared custard volumes are channelled through.
In terms of the regional distribution of prepared custard, more than a third of total volumes are distributed in Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. The 1L carton continues to be the most popular packing for prepared custard.
The ice cream market felt the effects of the current economic climate, with all categories recording either a limited volume growth in 2012, or negative movement. This trend was seen from both a production and a packaging point of view. Packaging suppliers stated that although much of ice cream volumes are packed into imported packaging, there was a slowing of imports and the local packaging players are not seeing a rise in demand.
The pricing of portioned ice cream increased the most in 2012, relative to the other ice cream categories, as the market saw a marked increase in luxury type items such as cones and sticks. The non-portioned market saw a decline in pricing, which caused the category to feel a decrease in value for the year.
The ice cream market is divided into non-portioned, portioned and soft serve. In the non-portioned category fall bulk ice cream products, sold in plastic tubs or applied via a scoop onto a cone, in packs of 5l or more and scoop/tubs, which are sold in packs of 500ml to 4.5l. The category also includes speciality non-portioned items, such as ice cream cakes, fruit sorbets and other non-portioned speciality ice cream products
The portioned market includes cones, sticks, cups, multipacks and speciality portioned, such as Tartuffo and Italian kisses or fruit sorbet.
The soft serve ice cream is mixed in a machine and dispensed on demand. The machine mixing includes a step that integrates a great deal of air into the ice cream, resulting in a product that is much lighter in texture and flavour than regular ice cream and is characteristically soft and creamy. This is sold predominantly through foodservice outlets and street vendors.
The channel distribution for ice cream remained stable during 2012, with the exception of foodservices, which saw a decline in distribution during the year.
A few manufacturers moved their distribution regionally during the base year, which negatively affected the less metropolitan regions, such as the Eastern Cape and Free State and resulted in greater volumes entering Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The market is expected to feel slow increases in the coming years, with non-portioned ice cream expected to experience the lowest growth of the three categories for both 2013 and 2014.
BMi Research specialises in consumer and industrial research in various sectors, including the retail market. For more information, go to www.bmi.co.za.
