Ice-cream industry expanding on rural demand
The ice-cream industry is growing fast, riding on rural consumers and surge in per capita income across the country, reveals a study.
With the massive electrification in the country, particularly in rural Bangladesh, ice-cream found its huge market beyond cities as use of refrigerators marked a significant leap in suburbs and villages.
The overall development in the socio-economic front that influenced food habits of millions helped in expanding ice-cream market, surpassing neighboring India, and even compete with global market in terms of market size, the study said.
“Compared with overall GDP, Bangladesh’s ice-cream industry is at par with Europe and overall global market while being significantly larger than neighboring India,” said the study.
Three out of six companies currently hold 79% share of the country’s Tk1,200 crore ice-cream market, the recent study of LankaBangla Investment Ltd said.
The study said branded ice creams occupy more than 85% of the total market share, while premium ice-creams which are expensive than those of branded ones account for nearly 15-20% of the market.
The industry is expected to grow by an additional 15% by the end of this year, the study added.
According to industry stakeholders, the branded ice-cream market size is growing fast due to rising income levels, increase of access to electricity across the country, and changes in social structure and food habits.
Stake holders, speaking to the Dhaka Tribune opined: “Market for branded ice cream is concentrated in the megacities due to issues regarding electricity, cold chain, and income level of the consumers.”
They also added that increasing access to electricity in rural areas is turning them into potential ice-creammarkets in villages.
According to the study, two established names in the industry, Igloo and Polar hold two-thirds (66%) of the market share.
Four companies, combined, hold 79% of the total market share.
Available at more than 20,000 retail outlets across the country, Abdul Monem Ltd’s Igloo holds 38% of the market share since it is the most popular impulse and take-home ice cream in Bangladesh.
When asked about the reason behind such a high market penetration level, CEO of Igloo Ice Cream GM Kamrul Hassan responded: “The market size of branded ice cream grows fast because of rapid penetration of electricity across the country and changes in social structure and food habits.”
Terming competition as necessary for a healthy market Kamrul further added that every successful company, including Igloo Ice Cream, welcomes competitors as it makes the market more competitive and consumer centric.
Igloos main competitor Polar – a concern of Dhaka Ice Cream Industries Ltd – holds a market share of 28%.
Recent market entrants Bellissimo and Za’n Zee – both concerns of Kazi Food Industry – were introduced in Bangladesh as high-quality premium ice-cream brands in 2013, and now hold 13% market share.
Kwality holds 11% while Bloop (owned by Golden Harvest Ice-Cream Ltd) holds 8% of the market share.
One out of six ice-cream firms is now listed in capital market.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Managing Director of Golden Harvest Group Ahmed Rajeeb Samdani said: “The ice-cream industry in Bangladesh has been steadily growing by approximately 12% every year. Golden Harvest has set up a brand new plant in collaboration with Tetra Pack Sweden and is being operated under the supervision of a highly experienced Danish production manager. The brand offers around 40 variants including sticks, cups, cones, calippo, sorbets, tubs, cakes and many more.”
Recently, Taufika Foods and Agro Industries Ltd launched a new ice cream brand - Lovello. The Lovellofactory has been setup on 5 acres of land in the Bhaluka upazila of the Mymensingh district with an initial investment of Tk100 crore.
However, Lovello is yet to penetrate the market significantly, market operators said.
Stakeholders explained that the growth of the country’s ice cream market has also seen a boost in employment.
They said tariffs on imported raw materials of ice-cream need to be rationalized. The main ingredients of ice cream are milk, dairy products, condensed milk, powdered milk, and butterfat, which are imported from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Denmark.
Studies show that the ice cream industry is contributing 0.064% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The ice cream industry in India is contributing 0.031% to their GDP. But in Vietnam, the industry has contributed a lot (0.094%).
Furthermore, the ice cream industry contributes 0.053% of the world GDP.
The global ice cream market grew at the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 6% during 2009-2016, reaching a volume of 19.7 million metric tons in 2016.
In 2016, Europe dominated the global ice cream market with more than 40% share. On the other hand, China and Brazil account for two-fifths of the global ice cream sales.
SAM Zakaria Hossain, general manager of Kazi Food Industries Limited, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Bellissimo is the first and only icecream brand in Bangladesh to produce international standard ice cream using at least 10% milk fat and natural flavors. Za 'n Zee has delicious and fun ice creams at affordable prices for ice cream lovers all over Bangladesh.”
https://www.dhakatribune.com/busine...mpBFSW2IvnJcgfmBoCO3WE0GLUSpeodE6xXx_GcP_8oQU
Now, tell me about Aricha. Is it not Ferry that we use to cross the mighty Padma there?
The country needs to replace tens of ferries including in the Aricha-Goalondo (Paturia) and Aricha-Nogorbari routes.
Isn't BAL already thinking about second Padma bridge there? Japan is eying that project.
https://www.thedailystar.net/frontp...r-projects-govt-seeking-japanese-fund-1509418