Frozen yoghurt sales have surged by a third in the past year, according to research carried out exclusively for The Grocer.
This article is part of our Ice Cream Report 2014 .
Sales have surged 30% on volumes up 18%, making it the wider ice cream category’s strongest performing sector [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 May 2014].
| VALUE | VOLUME | AVERAGE PRICE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | y-o-y | packs (m) | y-o-y | £/pack | y-o-y | |
| Choc Snacks | 211 | 13% | 140.7 | 13% | 1.5 | -0.4% |
| Premium Dessert | 170.7 | 7% | 80.3 | 9% | 2.13 | -1.8% |
| Luxury Dessert | 116.9 | 13% | 44.5 | 11% | 2.63 | 1.9% |
| Filled Cones | 98.6 | 7% | 81.2 | 17% | 1.21 | -8.8% |
| Kids | 94.6 | 18% | 72.2 | 17% | 1.31 | 0.8% |
| Standard Dessert | 84 | 7% | 56.9 | 6% | 1.48 | 0.8% |
| Adult Refreshment | 26.3 | 15% | 17 | 7% | 1.55 | 7.5% |
| Individual Dessert | 24.1 | -17% | 18.8 | -14% | 1.28 | -3.4% |
| Family Dessert | 20.6 | -1% | 16.8 | -1% | 1.22 | 0.1% |
| Frozen Yoghurt | 10.8 | 30% | 5.3 | 18% | 2.05 | 9.8% |
| Total Ice Cream | 854.2 | 10% | 535.2 | 11% | 1.6 | -0.9% |
But with value sales worth just £10.8m and only 6.3% of British households currently buying frozen yoghurt, the sector still has a long way to grow.
“Admittedly, there is a jump for consumers to make between the taste profile they expect from an ice cream, and that of frozen yoghurt,” concedes Charlotte Hambling, senior brand marketing manager at R&R Ice Cream, which owns YooMoo.
“While both are delicious, they are different. Frozen yoghurt clearly has other advantages, being lower in fat and calories, but for some consumers this will not be a strong enough reason to switch.”
Convincing consumers to make that switch permanently may be an uphill struggle, further research carried out by Harris Interactive for The Grocer suggests.
According to our poll of 2,049 consumers, just 39% have bought frozen yoghurts before and of those that have, 37% said they would rarely or never buy it again.
This, according to Paul Brown, head of sales at Lick Frozen Yoghurt, is down to the varying quality of products currently on the market.
“I’m afraid to say that not all fro-yo tastes great and if your first experience is through inferior product, you are unlikely to come back a second time and this is a shame for frozen yoghurt,” he says.
That’s not to say the brands are being put off the category. R&R says it has a clearer idea of its target market and will focus on them through advertising.
“We have identified our key consumer, who is young and female, and utilised social media to access this group,” says Hambling.
This could indeed be the way to drive further growth: our Harris Interactive research shows that 43% of women have bought frozen yoghurt before, compared to 36% of men.
Read more of our Ice Cream Report 2014 .
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