ANALYSIS OF THE PREMIUM ICE CREAM INDUSTRY: BEN AND JERRY'S, HAAGEN DAZS AND KEMPS.

A few years ago, the frozen dairy segment was populated by family-owned businesses, and a couple of big American companies that focused on certain regions.

In 2003 the segment is becoming an arena for two huge international consumer products companies seeking to control a bigger chunk of the branded ice cream business. Nestle S.A. of Switzerland, the world's largest food outfit with more than $46 billion in annual sales, and Unilever PLC, of London and Rotterdam, with over $26 billion in annual receipts, now own or are involved with several of the best known brand names in the ice cream aisle--Nestle, Haagen-Dazs, Dreyer's/Edy's, Good Humor, Breyer's, Ben & Jerry's, Godiva and Starbucks. With $750 million in annual sales, Marigold Foods is competing with its Kemp's premium ice cream line for a share of this market.

What are they "playing" for? This year's Ice Cream Industry trends show a continuation on the increasing demand for premium products (44% of the total sales)

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