Ice cream market heats up

Delicious flavours, increasing consumer expenditure on fast food and availability are pushing up ice cream popularity locally, expanding an already growing market for the sweet frozen desserts in Bangladesh.

The market players claimed that ice cream market’s annual growth rate is 15 per cent in Bangladesh due to the availability of electricity, cold chain, an increased buying capacity of people and urbanisation.

Growing demand for the item among rural consumers also helped the market growth, they said.

They added that the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the industry but it is recovering those losses now.

According to the sector people, Igloo and Polar are two established names in the industry, who hold 66 per cent of the market share. Za’n Zee, Bellissimo, Bloop, Kwality, Lovello are among few other popular ice cream brands in Bangladesh.

Apart from the branded items, many non-branded ice cream products are also available in the market.

Abdul Monem Limited’s Igloo has more than 20,000 retail outlets across the country as it is the most popular impulse and take-home ice cream brand in Bangladesh.

Speaking to The Business Post, Md Abdus Salam Miah, Head of Sales of Golden Harvest, said, “Impulse goods sales are on the rise in our country as people’s lifestyle and food habits are changing gradually. It is making a positive impact on the ice cream business as well. The ice cream business has bright prospects in our country.”

Salam added that the current market size of ice-cream is around Tk 3,000 crore in Bangladesh and the industry has been growing at a 15 per cent rate every year. “Besides, around 1 lakh people are directly and indirectly involved with the ice cream industry,” said Salam.

Sumit Chakraborty, senior brand manager of Abdul Monem Limited said that the ice cream industry was growing fast due to the innovative flavours, consumer expenditure. “The coronavirus pandemic hampered our business as many customers believed in a rumour that eating ice cream may spread the virus,” he said.

Sumit said that the market scenario is changing positively this year as the Covid-19 situation is improving.

“Young consumers, especially school or college students, like ice cream more than any other age group. Apart from that, the rising purchasing power of consumers is also playing a vital role in the overall growth of this industry,” said Sumit.

Sabahat Abrar Hamim, a sixth-grader, said, “I like ice cream more than any other food item and I like to eat it every day.”

Many consumers said ice cream gives them a refreshing feeling, especially in hot weather and it is also a source of energy.

Mohammad Swapon, a shop owner at Mirpur-1, said, “Ice cream is very popular among people of all age groups. Compared to the recent years, our sales volume is increasing thanks to different flavours, affordability and availability.”

“Low sugar ice creams are now popular among the middle-aged and old people,” he added.

Like Swapon, many ice cream sellers in the capital also claimed that their ice cream sales were increasing. The sales did not decline in autumn when the temperature is not that high and humidity is also low.

According to a report published in August 2021 by market research company Research and Markets, the global ice cream market was valued at $111.58 billion in 2020 and was expected to grow at a compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of over 5.71 per cent during the forecast period.

“The global ice cream market is driven by increasing population, economic development, and rising purchasing power of consumers. Ice cream is majorly consumed in the summer season, providing several benefits such as minerals and vitamins,” said the report.