Competition Heats Up As Vendors Vie for Ice Cream Market

Aug. 9–Few things may be more satisfying during the hot, humid days of summer than a cone or cup of delicious ice cream. But in today’s dessert world, it’s no longer simply a choice of one scoop or two.

As competitors in the industry strive to one-up each other, consumers have more choices not only of where to enjoy their coveted cones, but what to put in them. In the Pittsburgh region alone, home to hundreds of ice cream vendors, competitors are luring in customers by developing new store concepts that let customers watch their favorite flavor being made and by scooping out such bizarre names as “SPF 31,”"Bumble Buzz” and “Tipsy Sailor.”

It’s all about making an individual store or chain’s ice cream and frozen dessert stand out in an industry that, while the product isn’t all that different, generates annual sales in the $20.5 billion range, said Salvatore Babones, a University of Pittsburgh sociology professor .

“Companies work constantly to — create narrow niches in which they have monopolies or near-monopolies on goods that are only imperfect substitutes for each other.”

Take the Vanilla Bean Golden Ale ice cream cone at Dave and Andy’s Inc., an Oakland institution. It comes in a fresh waffle cone with M&Ms at the bottom. “A vanilla cone, you can get anywhere,” Babones said.

Micheale Kester, a senior technologist of research and development at Baskin-Robbins who helps create the plethora of flavors sold in the global franchise chain’s stores, says she often bases a new concoction on trends in dining and dessert , pop culture and even fashion .

“If you don’t come up with new and different flavors, you’re not going to get consumers coming back,” she said. “There’s a large part of our consumer base that comes back just to see what’s new.”

Baskin-Robbins also looks to cultural events for inspiration. In 1969, for example, the company launched “Lunar Cheesecake” to coincide with first moon landing, and in the early 1990s, it sold “Gorbachocolate” in honor of Mikhail Gorbachev as the leader of the former Soviet Union whose 1980s reforms led to the collapse of communism in the Russian empire.

The new Pittsburgh Mills Mall in Frazer is home to three ice cream vendors that take a different approach to the traditional treat.

Dippin’ Dots serves ice cream in tiny, colorful little beads that the company says keeps the ice cream fresher and is more fun to eat. Marble Slab Creamery allows the customer to tailor a flavor to their own liking and watch an employee make it right before their eyes.

“The product sells itself really,” said Marble Slab owner Bill Jeffcoat. He said the store’s concept has been so popular that he’s had to keep it open one hour past its closing time to accommodate lines that extend three stores down. Creations include Birthday Bonanza, a mixture of cake, ice cream, rainbow sprinkles and gummy bears.

And old standby Dairy Queen has unveiled a new concept called TreatWorks at the region’s newest mall. It sells waffle cone bowls and warm desserts, such as chocolate molten cake and warm apple turnover, not found in other Dairy Queen stores, as well as Dairy Queen’s Orange Julius line, a line of fruit smoothies.

Ann Stone, a Dairy Queen vice president of mall concepts, said the consumer response for TreatWorks in Pittsburgh had been terrific and that Dairy Queen planned to introduce it to other cities.

But as hard as ice cream purveyors are working to set themselves apart, the reality for many is that the decision of where to go is a matter of convenience, not substance.

Debbie Coulson, of Fox Chapel, is a good example. She brings son, Andy, 14, and his soccer teammates to get ice cream after summer practices, a long-standing tradition . Asked for a favorite ice cream destination, she said it really was a matter of location. “It really depends on what’s close to where the practice is being held.”

And despite all the new flavors to hit the market, the International Dairy Foods Association reports that America’s favorite flavor is still vanilla, followed closely by chocolate and strawberry.

Kester concedes that for young children, the taste of the flavor at Baskin-Robbins isn’t the biggest selling point; it’s the color. Young kids, she says, are particularly attracted to a new summer flavor of sherbert called “Splish Splash” because of the bright blue color.

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