The global artisanal ice cream market is highly competitive with key industry players adopting various strategies such as product launches, partnerships, and expansions to strengthen their market positions. Most of these companies are focused on expanding operations across regions, augmenting their capabilities, and building strong partner relations.
The growth of market players depends on market conditions, government support, and industry development. Thus, the vendors need to focus on expanding geographically and improving product quality. Bi-Rite, Van Leeuwen, Gelato & Co, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, LLC., Lackey's Artisan Ice Cream, McConnell's Fine Ice Creams, The Saffron Ice Cream Company, Graeter’s Inc., ROGUEICECREAM, and Gelato & Latte Este are major companies operating in this market. They compete based on market presence, quality, and price.
Key players are engaging in business expansions and market development to expand their customer base. The international players can strengthen their presence worldwide through acquisitions during the review period. Additionally, improvements in the global economic scenario and rising demand for artisanal ice cream in emerging nations are expected to drive the market growth, making it an ideal time for players to launch new products and increase their global market shares.
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams launched three ice cream flavors: honey and cornbread cookies, wild sweet clover, and olive oil and salted almonds.
March 2019
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, LLC.
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, LLC. launched dairy-free ice creams in the US. Its dairy-free ice creams flavors include— dark chocolate truffle, cold brew with coconut cream, Texas sheet cake, and roasted peanut butter and strawberry jam.
February 2019
Van Leeuwen
Van Leeuwen launched cannabidiol (CBD) oil-infused ice cream. Ingredients used in this ice cream include chocolate, roasted peanuts, potatoes, caramel swirls, marshmallows, and CBD oil.
March 2018
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams launched dairy-free frozen desserts, which are low in fat and sugar, are cholesterol-free, and non-GMO. The company uses pea protein in these desserts.
Van Leeuwen collaborated with Kings Features, an entertainment company, to create a limited-edition vegan ice cream flavor Popeye’s Fleet Treat, inspired by the iconic cartoon character Popeye. The flavor was created in celebration of Popeye’s 90th birthday. Its ingredients included raw cashew milk, coconut cream, raw organic coconut oil, cocoa butter, organic spinach, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and organic cane sugar.
1.1.1 expansions
Gelato & Co opened its first store at Cinco Ranch, Texas, US. The shop offers pastries and handcrafted gelato.
Michael Porter’s Five Forces model offers a framework to study the global artisanal ice cream market. Strategic business managers, trying to gain an edge over competing firms in the global artisanal ice cream market, can utilize this model to better comprehend the industry in which the company operates. The components of each of the forces and the degree of impact of each element in the context of the global artisanal ice cream market have been broken down and analyzed.THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
The global artisanal ice cream market is highly competitive with the presence of major players across the globe. The presence of a large number of players in the market acts as a challenge for new entrants to establish their brand image. However, the escalating demand for regional flavors in ice cream has made the market lucrative. Furthermore, the easy availability of raw materials and moderate cost of production attract new players to enter the global artisanal ice cream market. Additionally, the required working capital to run an artisanal ice cream business is not high, which also acts as a major driving factor for the increasing number of manufacturers in the global artisanal ice cream market.
Hence, the threat of new entrants in the global artisanal ice cream market is expected to be moderate.
BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS
Raw material suppliers for artisanal ice cream include manufacturers, distributors, importers, and independent suppliers of ingredients. Due to the availability of a large number of suppliers across the globe and moderate cost of raw materials, the bargaining power of the suppliers tends to be low. Moreover, the suppliers are not limited to any specific region which further decreases their bargaining power.
Hence, the bargaining power of suppliers in the global artisanal ice cream market is expected to be low.
BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
The buyers are the major governing factor of the market. There is a large number of artisanal ice cream manufacturers in the market, which increases product availability. The limited product differentiation reduces the switching costs for buyers. Moreover, the lack of brand loyalty increases the bargaining power of buyers. The buyer concentration is high, especially in North America and Europe. However, the consumers are highly price sensitive.
Hence, the bargaining power of buyers in the global artisanal ice cream market is expected to be moderate.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
The potential substitutes for artisanal ice cream are conventional ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and pudding. The changing consumer preferences have given rise to numerous options for frozen desserts. Manufacturers are increasingly including frozen Greek yogurt and puddings of several flavors in their portfolio to fuel sales. Moreover, growing health consciousness is influencing consumers to opt for alternatives with lower caloric value and higher nutritional value than artisanal ice cream.
Hence, the threat of substitutes in the global artisanal ice cream market is expected to be high.
INTENSITY OF RIVALRY
The global artisanal ice cream market is fragmented with the presence of several regional and global players. There is a high level of competition among the market players in terms of product quality and variety. The growing demand for artisanal ice cream provides an opportunity to the players to emphasize innovation and product quality to expand their customer base. Thus, the manufacturers are focusing on launching new and innovative flavors and various strategic expansion plans to expand their presence across the globe and survive in the competitive market.
Hence, the intensity of rivalry in the global artisanal ice cream market is expected to be high.
