European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                America s passion for ice Cream these triplets with a taste for ice Cream obviously Are not yet caught up in obsession for fitness and slim Ness. By Lisa h. Towle new York times a Merica consumes More ice Cream per capita than any other country. So it is no Surprise that Congress has declared jul National ice Cream month. Some 98 percent of the households in the country eat ice Cream and per capita consumption is about 15 quarts a year. Ice Cream eaters on average will treat themselves to the Frozen dessert twice a month at away from Home outlets and will spend $9.3 billion on ice Cream and related products this year according to the International ice Cream association. The obsession shows no sign of abating As ice Cream manufacturers continue to churn out a dizzying array of new products. At Pillsbury owned Haagen dazs for instance ice Cream products that were developed within the past three years account for 43 percent of sales. Total supermarket sales of packaged ice Cream in 1987 were estimated by the Mica at $2.8 billion. The biggest growth 15 percent came in packaged super Premium ice Cream which has a butterfat Content of 14 percent or More. The three other ice Cream grades Are Premium regular and Economy. Jamie Robert Vollmer executive vice president of the great midwestern ice Cream co., feels that such Strong growth in the admittedly fattening super Premium category shows a tremendous Reward mechanism at work in this country people Are willing to pay for and indulge themselves for a Job Well  at the other end is the quest for the guilt free indulgence. A variety of manufacturers from corporate giants to Independent manufacturers Are going after the Frozen Yogurt Market with Low calorie and non fattening Light Frozen desserts. These products often taste As Rich As ice Cream but because of a lower butterfat Content cannot technically use the name. Ice Cream must contain at least 10 percent butterfat. A new York City company american Glace has come out with a soft serve dessert that has half the calories of Frozen Yogurt. It s even Kosher. Then there s the Frozen Novelty  a Frozen Novelty which May or May not contain Dairy ingredients is an individually packaged single serving of a Frozen dessert or Frozen snack. This includes such products As ice Cream sandwiches and fruit bars. Last year ice Cream novelties were the fastest growing segment of the $1.5 billion Frozen Novelty Market. The Mica estimates that from Jan. 1,1987, through last summer More than 150 Frozen Novelty items were introduced in american grocery stores. Consumers will ultimately vote at the Cash Register. But in at least one state ice Cream was used As a Way to vote for presidential candidates. Before the Iowa caucuses great midwestern of Fairfield Iowa devised a rolling polling station that travelled the state signing up voters and offering Campaign information along with free ice Cream that had been named for presidential candidates. There was Bush s preppy int Simon s Bow tie Brickie and Jackson s Rainbow sundae. The winners Dukakis mass chewy chocolate and Dole s top banana. The National obsession with fitness and slim Ness has not escaped the ice Cream Industry. The race is on to find the product that will help end the Battle of the bulge or at least not lose it. . Hood inc. Of Boston has introduced a super Premium ice milk that has 33 percent less fat than regular ice Cream. Named new product of the year by the country s leading Dairy Industry publication Dairy foods Hood Light comes in 14 flavors including the new alaskan White chocolate Avalanche and triple nut Cluster sundae. In its new England Market Hood Light has a 9.5 percent Market share. Kraft inc., which Bills itself As the leading manufacturer of Frozen desserts in the country has ventured into the Low calorie Market by test marketing a Light version of its Century old All natural Premium Brand Breyer s. Since april Consumers in new England and the Midwest have had a Chance to Sample Breyer s Light ice milk with one third less butterfat and calories. American Glace has come out with an answer for those seeking a guilt free treat a soft serve dessert totally free of cholesterol fat artificial flavors preservatives and emulsifiers. Low in sodium american Glace comes in six flavors and contains Only 12 calories an ounce. It is according ice Cream Market share of most popular flavors in percent Vanilla Chocola neapolitan j 6.2 fudge 4,2 re dljj3-9 butter Pecan cookies & Cream Chicago tribunal graphic by Tim Williams source International ice Cream association to inventor Peter Godoff the least fattening dessert on the  american Glace said orders have doubled this year and that sales will top $1 million this september. But there will always be those willing to yield at least temporarily to super Premium ice creams. To satisfy this group Ben & Jerry s homemade inc. Is experimenting with a flavor of the month program Haagen dazs has created a Vanilla and belgian chocolate luxury soft ice Cream and Kraft has introduced its Premium plus Marble classics an ice Cream with an unusual marbleized texture. The hot area in the Freezer Case Are the super Premium shelves said Vollmer of great midwestern which had $2.5 million in sales last year. Great midwestern s chocolate and Vanilla flavors received perfect scores in an evaluation by the University of Wisconsin s Dairy science department that measures such things As ingredients sweetness and taste. Super Premium ice creams Aren t going to change the world said Vollmer but they can make it a nicer  in the continuing Battle to capture the taste buds and pocketbooks of slackers and dessert eaters ice Cream makers each year churn out a new array of Frozen Novelty items. Supermarkets have traditionally used the Novelty business As a Type of vaudeville trotting out new acts to keep people interested said Allan Kaufman executive director of sales and marketing for Ben & Jerry s homemade inc. Ben & Jerry s latest contribution to the Novelty business is a four ounce peace pop that features four ice Cream flavors Heath bar crunch Cherry Garcia new York super fudge chunk or Vanilla that Are covered in chocolate and sold on a stick. The packaging on the peace pop gives information about 1% for peace an organization that believes that less Money should be spent on armaments and More on peace efforts. A new Novelty entry nuggets has proved to be unprofitable for the isaly Klondike co. Of Clearwater Fla. The company s president Thomas g. Dixcy said that Klondike experienced a $2 million operating loss due to nuggets last year causing the first reported loss for the company. This is a sudden fall for a company whose Vanilla ice Cream Klondike six packs were the no. 1 Novelty item for the 48-week period ending last february according to . Nielsen scan track figures. Still some companies Are unable to resist the thought that there Are profits to be made in novelties. Among them is Kraft inc. Which is test marketing its revamped Polar bar 3.5 ounce chocolate covered ice Cream bar. Dairy Queen s entry in the Field is the chocolate Mountain bar an optional item for its 4,422 Domestic franchises. A year in the making the five and a Quarter ounce Vanilla bar has a 12 percent butterfat Content and is dipped in dark chocolate. Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday july 22,1988