The ice cream industry in Bangladesh is a well established and a prospering sector. It began its journey about 40 years ago with the establishment of the ‘Igloo’ ice cream unit in 1964 under the umbrella of the AML Constructions. Since then this sector has been growing. In 2014 this was a 6.5 Billion Taka industry and is expected to rise to an approximate 8.5 Billion Taka industry in 2015 (AMLBD, 2014). This industry is in a robust growth stage as evident by the observed growth rate last year of about 24% and the companies operating in the market estimate the rate to be around 28% in 2015 (AMLBD, 2014).
Ice cream industry can be segmented into two categories based on the type/quality of the products that are available in the market. One is General market and another is the Premium market segment. Most of the present companies in the market are competing in the General market (97% of the industry) while only three companies are currently operating to gain the Premium market share (3%). The chart below depicts the major players in the industry and their respective market shares (AMLBD, 2014) (approximately): Chart 1: Market Shares of the major players of the sector in 2014. Source: AMLBD, 2014
Ice cream is a pure impulse product. The customer does not put much planning on purchasing it before hand. This consumption depends on a few factors which in turns affect the industry. One is the temperature of the South East Asia region. Temperatures in this part of the world are usually very hot and humid as it is close to the earth’s equator. So naturally there is a demand for cold items to combat the heat. Another reason this industry is growing is the taste pallet of the South East Asian people. They have a traditional inkling towards sweet products. The growth of this sector in Bangladesh can also be traced back to the constant rise in population and the increase in disposable income of the general public
References: AMLBD. (2014). Time Line of Abdul Monem Ltd. Retrieved from http://amlbd.com/timeline AMLBD Internal audit (Igloo ice cream unit), 2014 AMLBD Annual Report, 2014 Parvez, S. (2013, April 17). ‘Brand Wars Heating up in the ice Cream Industry’. The Daily Star. Retrieved from http://archive.thedailystar.net Parvez, S. (2008, September 26). ‘Polar ice cream to bring back chill next summer’. The Daily Star. Retrieved from http://news.org.bd/news/business/polar-ice-cream-to-bring-back-chill-next-summer/