How to optimize the sales all year long for an ice-creams brand?
- Margaux Millet
- Nov 30, 2021
- 2 min read
The ice cream market is highly seasonal. In 2020, 76.8% of total sales were recorded between April and September. For the purpose of this article, we will roughly divide the year in two seasons:
Summer: April – September
Winter: October – Mars
Of course, French consumption varies from year to year and depends on weather conditions. However, it is especially high during the summer season. In August 2020 alone, sales for the month jumped by more than 30%.
We have conducted a survey in order to understand the habit of ice-cream consumption of the French population. We wondered in which season do French people buy ice-creams, which brands they associate with which season, as well as which flavour.
The aim was to help Extreme's marketing managers to lower the high seasonality of their sales.
We received 40 answers from a variety of French people: from 18 to 65 years old, 72.5% of female, 57.5% of students and 37.5% of active.
90% of the respondents affirm to buy ice-creams at least once a year. If we get rid of the person that replied, “I don’t buy ice-creams": 62% of them buy ice-creams during summer period, while 38% buy them all year long.
When we asked which ice-creams brands they associate with which season, we identified some disparities between brands. Even if no brands were mostly associated with winter, some of them are associated with an all the year consumption, while other are more seen as summer ice-creams. It is noted that according to the respondents: Magnum, kinder, Mondelez, Häagen-Dazs, Ben&Jerry’s, Mars, Smarties and La Laitière ice-creams can be consume all the year. The least mixed responses were for La Laitière (75%), Häagen-Dazs and Ben&Jerry’s (both 62,5%).
However, Oasis (95%), Mr Freeze (94%) and Extrême (62,5%) are consumed mostly during summer season. We can see that Extrême has the potential to be considered as an all year long ice-cream.
As the core position of Extrême is its cone shape, we didn’t question the participants about the link between the format and the seasonal consumption. Nonetheless, we questioned them about the flavour.
We highlighted 3 groups of flavours.
Summer: fruits flavours
Winter: greedy flavours
All year long: pistachio and vanilla flavours
The challenge for Extreme was to keep its cone shape (because it is part of its positioning and would not make sense to change it), while suggesting more greedy ice-creams.
In winter 2021 they launched the revolutionised cookie cone!
4 flavours around chocolate, caramel and vanilla. The Cookies Cones happened to be the 5th best launch of 2021 with 1,55M€ after three periods. We which Extrême to keep going on this path in order to optimize its sales all year long. Obviously, this is what they which too as they shared on Froneri’s LinkedIn profile on behalf of the brand Extrême :
“There's no season for an icy treat 😉
At Froneri, we are very proud to have invented the Extreme COOKIE CONE!
All of Extreme's ice cream know-how in a unique and delicious cone...and above all, all in COOKIE!
A pure COO(KIFF) moment in 4 flavors: vanilla and caramel sauce, chocolate, caramel and hazelnut.”
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