The global retail ice cream industry revenue is estimated to reach $74 billion by 2018. Favorable demographic factors, rising consumer disposable income, and consumer's awareness toward frozen dessert mainly drive the demand.
The retail ice cream industry includes retail sales of classic ice creams and frozen novelties. Classic ice cream includes special ice cream such as low-fat and non-fat, take home, and bulk ice creams. Frozen novelties include flavored ice, sorbet, and frozen yogurt.
The industry is moderately capital-intensive as large numbers of players are competing with each other to maintain their place in the market. The classic ice cream segment contributed approximately 80% in global retail ice cream industry in 2012, whereas Nestle and Unilever, the two largest players captured one-third of the total market. New product development and innovation plays an important role as a growth driver for industry. Maintaining price and quality, brand loyalty, and consumer group retention are the biggest challenges for industry due to the large number of competitors in the market.