SWEETS REPORT
TREAT YOURSELF AMID PANDEMIC STRESS, CONSUMERS TURNED TO SWEET SNACKS FOR A MOMENT OF JOY By Zachary Russell
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he COVID-19 pandemic has kept most people indoors for nearly two years, which led to a rise in grocery deliveries, healthier foods and a renewed interest in home-cooked meals. Another category that has seen increased sales across the board during the pandemic is sweets. “More consumers are ordering from online platforms or are stocking up on their sweet treats in bulk when they make their limited trip to the grocery store,” said Connor Kramer, national account manager at Krüger North America, an ingredient supplier that makes chocolate and sweets for private label companies. “These ordering patterns are increasing sales at the retail level and are replacing the consumer’s sweet treat fix that they would normally get at a restaurant or on the go. Physical and mental well-being plays a factor, too. This pandemic has certainly caused a lot of stress and tragedy for many families. I think people turn to sweet treats like chocolate to get that instant feeling of comfort and joy. During these times, people are more accepting of ‘treating yourself’ to food that makes you feel happy even if it is for a short period of time.” Of the products in the category: ice cream has seen some of the most success. According to the International Dairy Food Association, ice cream makers in the U.S. produced more than 1 billion gallons of hard ice cream in 2021, up 6% from
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2019. In the first five months of 2021, hard ice cream production was up 4% compared with the previous year. More specifically, the IDFA said that between March and May of 2021, sales of frozen novelties were up 24% from the same period in 2019. Innodelice, a supplier network for the frozen dessert industry, determined four growing trends in the category: snack-ification (bite sized, controlled portions), healthy-er (additional benefits, plant-based), natural-ity (clean label or organic) and indulgent & surprising (multi-textured, colorful, or exotic). “Traditionally, private labels look to brands to identify
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