analysis by Sheila Eggleston - Cabinets get all-industry ranges - Birds Eye Wall's volumes up 7% - Emphasis on building brands - Smaller tubs arrive The DTI and Competition Commission ruling on freezer exclusivity and a lacklustre summer made 2000 a year to remember. Now the dust has settled on the ruling to scrap freezer exclusivity for Birds Eye Wall's, 2001 is seen as a make or break year for others to grab a share of the freezer and impulse markets. After initial confusion stemming from retailers faced with a raft of untried products and unsure of what to stock, firmer decisions are now being made. Spar's trading controller Robert Neal says Spar moved towards having a whole industry range last year, with 50% of the Wall's cabinet space devoted to alternative brands. "It may not be 50% but we will be introducing alternative brands into the Wall's cabinet this year," says Neal. "But if we have a Nestlé or Mars one, we will be putting Wall's lines into both. "As a business we got behind Kit Kat Chunky ice cream last year but when the season was half way through. But we will persevere with it this year. There will also be a stronger element of Cadbury's, and Wall's products such as the new Cornetto Whippy." Spar is pinning its hopes on the latter to grab back some of the market which has been lost to products such as McDonald's McFlurry. "We also lost out to multipacks throughout the trade, multiples as well, so kids ate less impulse ice cream," adds Neal. Scottish c-store chain Morning Noon & Night has decided to return to the Wall's fold. Prior to the ruling, it sold only Wall's, but last year it experimented with competitors' products. Marketing director Stephen Thompson says: "We've always done well on impulse. Its the bulk of sales. Last April we introduced six lines ­ four Nestlé and two Mars ­ into the Wall's freezer and let them run for the summer. But after evalulating sales we've decided to go back to Wall's exclusively. They don't provide the best margins but they do provide the bestsellers." There are some new products this season from suppliers, but the emphasis is on building brands and consolidating positions with hefty ad spends. BEW has a massive £33m marketing package on ice cream alone this year. It holds 67% value and volume share of the £209m wrapped impulse sector [ACNielsen] and claims 16 of the top 20 wrapped impulse ice creams in volume sales. Despite a glitch in the premium sector which it says was caused by the axing of Gino Ginelli, general marketing manager Simon Stevens is optimistic for the future. He says: "Volume growth of Carte D'Or was 52% last year and our target is to grow to 80% this year. 2000 was a year where people learnt a lot. We saw our brand share dip but as the year progressed not all the new products that went into freezers sold, and although we lost 3% value share on impulse singles we've made up for that since. This year we have some bogofs on multipacks, although we are reducing them in the summer when people buy anyway across multiples and independents." Last year Nestlé focused its resources on maximising visibility in the street and instore and says its freezers with interchangeable brand logos, free on loan to customers, increased its volume sales by 69%. Its £34m budget across its confectionery portfolio this year includes five ice cream brands being targeted ­ Rowntree's Fruit Pastil-lolly, Fab, Maxibon, Kit Kat Chunky and new Smarties Pop-up, one of six new products being launched. Frederick's Dairies sales and marketing director Peter Elvin says the ruling gives individual retailers the ability to use local knowledge and choose the products tailored to their needs. But the company, which makes Cadbury's/Trebor Bassett ice cream under licence, argues that sales of tubs and multipacks through grocery represent a far larger sector than wrapped impulse. Elvin says: "It is much easier to offer significant brand choice in a large multiple where space is less at a premium. This situation has created conditions where choice and healthy brand competition have resulted in significant growth over recent years and this is expected to continue in 2001. "A year ago we said we would achieve sales of £25m in 2000 and we have hit this important mark." Mars is dealing with the confusion by having a dedicated sales force from the beginning of March offering a number of deals. Three of its new wrapped hand-held products ­ Snickers cone, Joosters lolly and M&M's cookies ­ are exclusive to the impulse sector. Treats Ice Cream is planning price incentives in the value for money impulse sector. Price cuts are planned across 14 lines and its new Lemo-Pop will be offered at an rsp of just 18p. Tubs have been at the forefront of launches. Cadbury was the first to move key confectionery brands into tubs and this has been followed by Mars, which learnt the value of brand extension with Celebrations. But it is the rise in smaller tub sizes which has been phenomenal, reflecting the need to satisfy the smaller eat and eating on the hoof. BEW has brought in single tubs and four packs of its Spagnola and Stracciatella variants containing sauces and real fruit pieces. Scottish producer Mackie's with over 65% of its sales in England has also joined the bandwagon with 100ml tubs in two flavours in a four pack, launched alongside Mackice, ice cream coated in Belgian chocolate on a stick. Loseley's small tubs have in the past been exclusive to theatres but a multipack of 120ml mini pots in two flavour combinations ­ vanilla and butterscotch, and chocolate and strawberry ­ is to make its grocery retail debut in the summer, going head to head with Häagen-Dazs. Häagen-Dazs is backing its range to the tune of £9.3m this year. Vanilla caramel brownie and chocolate fudge turron ice cream tubs and 4 x 100ml mini tubs which includes flavours such as macadamian nut brittle are its new lines. Category manager Tim Dillon also says new areas will be targeted this year such as videos and home based occasions which will provide incremental opportunities. Last year was noted for mergers and takeovers. Unilever purchased Ben & Jerry's and although it operates separately from BEW, the brand is being jointly promoted with the Enjoy! range. Ben & Jerry's quirky marketing is a year long calendar of events, this year including the return of the Friesian fleet of cabs and its Mad World Championships. Own label supplier Richmond Frozen Confectionery has launched 65 ice cream products including what it claims is the UK's first organic ice lollies. New this year is the company's first ice cream cones under the Richmond brand. Richmond is also confident of further success for its milk, fromage frais and fruit mini lollies with no added sugar. Own label is a declining sector but offerings as part of Tesco Finest and Sainsbury's Taste the Difference may be what it needs to buck the trend and steal sales, particularly at the premium end. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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