The Effect of Temperature on Ice Cream Sales
Concluded Reasons to Summer Success
Summer Sales Statistics
Why is ice cream more in demand during the summer than any other season?
Ice Cream in the U.S. Today
- People eat ice cream to cool off in the hot summer weather.
- Teenagers will go on more “ice cream dates” in the summer due to availability.
- Children are not in schools during the summertime, allowing them to be the top consumers of ice cream, with more availability.
- In 1984, Ronald Regan declared July “National Ice Cream Month,” which encourages consumers to purchase ice cream and support the industry each year.
- Ice cream sales in the summertime count for about 40% of annual sales.
- The usual yearly sales growth in the summertime is 20-25% compared to the rest of the year.
Source: The American Heart Association
- The average American consumes 4.8 gallons of ice cream each year
- About 1.53 billion gallons of ice cream are produced each year in the United States, earning an average of $10 billion annual revenue.
- Over half of the ice cream industry is represented by take home ice cream brands and factories.
Top U.S. Ice Cream Competitors
A Little History...
How Ice Cream Businesses Stay Competitive in the Summer
- In 1790 the first ice cream parlor opened in New York.
- In 1851, Jacob Fussell in Baltimore created the first large-scale commercial ice cream plant, thus starting the ice cream industry.
- Bassetts was the first Ice Cream company to be established (1861)
Roadblocks with this Project
- Ice cream is a frozen food made from a dairy products, such as milk, and cream, mixed with sugars, flavorings, etc.
- It was thought to originate ~200 B.C. when the Chinese created a dish with rice mixed in milk that was frozen by packing in snow.
- The first ice cream in America occurred in 1744 and was tasted by Maryland Governor Thomas Bladen.
- Creating unique flavors that other companies do not sell.
- Making prices lower than direct competitors.
- Advertising incentives, such as punch-cards with a free ice cream.
- Gaining attention on social media.
- Most statistical economics data on ice cream were not available for free online, and most reports cost hundreds of dollars to view.
- Most web sites indicated that summer was the most successful time for ice cream sales and included graphs, however neglected to give in depth explanations using economic terminology.
Sources
- "International Dairy Foods Association."Ice Cream Sales & Trends. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.idfa.org/news-views/media-kits/ice-cream/ice-cream-sales-trends>.
- Polis, Carey. "America's Favorite Ice Cream Chains: Ben & Jerry's Tops Coldstone, Baskin-Robbins." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/americas-favorite-ice-cream-chains_n_1918747.html>.
- "Ice cream sales boosted by sweltering summer." West Palm Beach News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/ice-cream-sales-boosted-by-sweltering-summer/nL8Tp/>.
- "Shorter summers slows ice cream sales growth." Business Standard: News & analysis on economy, business and market. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/shorter-summers-slows-ice-cream-sales-growth-113102800647_1.html>.
Briana Wasserstrom