As the weather warms, ice cream may come to mind as a treat but also a struggle; as some think about their “beach body.” Natural Ice Cream items, and formats like plant-based, could help with the mental distress or justify enjoying ice cream. The data reflects a better-for-you mindset with Specialty & Wellness and Natural Positioned groups driving all the variance dollars and growth. The Conventional Positioned group has significant declines; almost bringing the category into negative growth. See chart below:
Along the line of thinking above, plant-based ice cream would be expected to have growth, but it has modest decline. (As a side note, plant-based novelties have significant growth, reflecting the nuances in categories that SPINS’ data identifies.) See chart below:
For related SPINS information on Frozen Treats last year (and how the trend has changed for plant-based ice cream), click here: https://www.spins.com/?s=frozen+treats