Industry Analysis by Stage in PLC - Essay Example

The product sectors of the ice cream industry are shown below. Revenues of take-home ice cream made 67.2% of the US ice cream market value. Impulse ice cream captured 14%. Artisanal ice cream and frozen yoghurt seized 10% and 9% respectively. (Datamonitor, 2008) Economic slow-down or recession greatly affects every industry including the ice cream industry. Ice cream manufacturers have reduced its packaging size in order to compensate the trade-off of the rising costs of production. (Berry, 2009) However, the economic recession distorted the buying behavior of customers such that a shift in consumer demand is observed in large chains of stores.

Customers now prefer to eat take-home ice cream than other products in the sector. The shift in consumer behavior is evident on the high percentage of share by value on take-home ice creams. (Ice Cream Going Private Label, 2009) A health issue such as obesity problem and wellness concerns also affects the market performance. People are becoming aware of their eating habits such that they prefer to live a healthy life by choosing non-fattening foods. Ice cream is generally characterized as fattening product.

Consumers control their purchases of ice cream in order to prevent obesity and other illnesses. (Peot, 2008) The US ice cream market is categorized as a high volume but low margin market where buyer power is high. The buyers of ice cream are mostly large chains of supermarkets and grocers. Manufacturers compete with each other to supply the store spaces with their products. The top competing companies in the US ice cream market are Blue Bell Creameries, Nestle and Unilever. Blue Bell Creameries carries the Blue Bell ice cream brand with over 50 different ice cream flavors.

Nestle’s ice cream is promoted under several brands such as Dreyer’s, Haagen Daz, Sveltesse stick and Legend Real Daily. Unilever has brands like Cornetto, Magnum,