The study aimed to help provide insights into the following areas: • Understanding the ice cream market in Dubai, UAE • Understanding the usage and attitude of ice cream consumers in Dubai, UAE by conducting market research • Identifying factors that drive the consumption and purchase of ice cream and map them according to their importance • Understanding the latest trends and market leaders in the ice cream industry and trying to understand why a particular brand is preferred over the other. Thorough market research revealed deep insights that helped us come out with recommendations for any premium ice cream brand wanting to enter or already existing in the Dubai market

1.
This
paper
looks
at
getting
insights
into
the
usage
and
attitude
of
consumers
of
ice
cream
in
Dubai,
United
Arab
Emirates
Page 1 of 38

2.
MARKETING
RESEARCH
PROJECT
A
study
of
the
Usage
and
Attitude
of
Consumers
of
Ice
Cream
in
Dubai,
UAE
Submitted
By
Group
-­‐
5
Neha
Jain
GAPR12CMM112
Prasan
Arora
GAPR12CMM114
Siddharth
Ravishankar
GAPR12CMM127
Saarim
Bakali
GAPR12CMM110
Jaikesh
Dani
GAPR12CM083
Under
the
Guidance
of
Prof.
Umesh
Kothari
Page 2 of 38

3. 1. Executive
Summary
For
marketers
all
over
the
world,
understanding
consumption
pattern,
attitude
and
usage
of
customers
is
of
utmost
importance.
It
helps
them
to
come
up
with
innovative
products
and
marketing
strategies
to
increase
their
sales.
In
the
ice
cream
industry,
the
consumer
behavior
varies
with
a
lot
of
factors.
After
our
secondary
research,
we
have
found
following
independent
variables,
which
affect
the
buying
decisions
of
customers:
• Packaging
• Price
• Variety
of
Flavors
• Brand
Name
• Availability
• Advertising
• Recommendations
Understanding
consumption
pattern
can
help
marketers
in
developing
strategies
to
generate
maximum
sales.
Page 3 of 38

4.
Fig
1:
Importance
of
Purchase
Drivers
in
2011
Source:
Euromonitor
report,
January
2012.
Consumer
Buying
Behavior
in
the
recession:
Global
online
Survey
The
above
graph
shows
that
quality
and
price
are
the
most
important
factors
driving
purchasing
decisions
of
consumers
globally.
Quality
was
viewed
as
important
for
91%
of
respondents
and
price
for
86%.
In
our
research
we
will
identify
the
importance
of
each
factors
for
ice-­‐cream
category
in
UAE
market.
Problem
Definition
As
identified
from
our
secondary
research
purchasing
decisions
are
always
influenced
by
consumer’s
choices
with
respect
to
brand,
product
prices,
features,
design,
convenience,
etc.
Marketers
need
to
identify
the
most
important
criteria,
which
influence
the
consumer-­‐buying
pattern
and
analyze
why
consumer
prefers
one
brand
to
the
other.
Several
questions
need
to
be
answered
to
understand
the
consumer
buying
behavior
like
–
Why
people
like
to
consume
ice
cream?
Which
criteria
lead
to
a
particular
brand
selection?
What
is
the
consumer
perception
towards
different
brands
of
a
particular
product?
This
study
is
intended
to
identify
the
customer
usage
and
attitude
towards
ice-­‐cream
consumption
in
UAE
market.
Page 4 of 38

5. Objectives:
Following
are
our
research
objectives:
• To
understand
the
usage
and
attitude
of
ice
cream
consumers
in
Dubai,
UAE
• To
identify
factors
that
drive
the
consumption
of
ice
cream
in
Dubai
and
map
them
according
to
their
importance
in
influencing
purchase
• To
make
recommendations
for
a
premium
ice
cream
brand
pertaining
to
the
Dubai
market
Page 5 of 38

6. 2. Table
of
Contents
1.
Executive
Summary
.....................................................................................................................
3
2.
Table
of
Contents
..........................................................................................................................
6
3.
Background
.....................................................................................................................................
7
4.
Research
Methodology
............................................................................................................
14
4.1.
Problem
Definition
and
Objectives
...........................................................................
15
4.2.
Research
Design
................................................................................................................
15
4.3.
Sampling
...............................................................................................................................
16
4.4.
Data
Collection
...................................................................................................................
16
4.5.
Data
Processing
and
Analysis
.....................................................................................
16
4.6.
Conclusion
and
Report
...................................................................................................
16
5.
Data
Analysis
...............................................................................................................................
17
6.
Conclusion
....................................................................................................................................
27
6.1
Recommendations
..................................................................................................................
27
6.2
Limitations
................................................................................................................................
28
6.3
Scope
for
further
Research
.................................................................................................
28
5.
Annexure
.......................................................................................................................................
29
9.1.
Questionnaire
.....................................................................................................................
29
9.2.
Raw
Data
..............................................................................................................................
37
10.
References
..................................................................................................................................
38
Page 6 of 38

7. 3. Background
Ice
Cream
and
weather
conditions
The
sale
of
ice
cream
is
affected
by
many
variables.
Primary
among
these
is
weather
conditions.
The
harsher
and
specifically
hotter
the
climate,
the
more
ice
cream
is
generally
purchased.
While
a
favorable
weather
conditions
causes
a
decline
in
demand
for
ice
cream.
For
instance,
research
suggested
that
more
favorable
weather
conditions
in
2009
contributed
to
slowing
the
expected
decline
in
demand
for
ice
cream
as
a
result
of
the
recession
at
global
level.
(Euromonitor
International,
2009)
Also,
despite
the
fact
that
ice
cream
is
not
a
staple
product
like
milk
or
bread,
further
research
also
proves
that
it
is
regarded
as
a
necessity
in
many
countries
during
the
hot
summers.
Impulse
ice
cream
is
the
largest
ice
cream
category
at
global
level;
accounting
for
52%
of
retail
volume
sales
followed
by
the
take-­‐home
ice
cream
which
accounts
for
37%
of
global
retail
volume
sales.
(Euromonitor
International,
2009)
Ice
cream
and
recession
Although,
research
indicates
that
in
hot
countries
ice
cream
is
considered
as
a
staple
product,
it
is
definitely
not
recession
proof
like
other
staple
products.
Recession
does
impact
ice
cream
sales
but
the
impact
is
not
too
significant.
The
major
reason
behind
this
is
that
the
demand
for
ice
cream
in
mass-­‐market
price
brackets
is
heavily
dependent
on
weather
conditions
and
demographic
growth,
regardless
of
moderate
fluctuations
in
disposable
income.
(Euromonitor
International,
2010)
Also,
the
effect
that
recession
has
on
ice
cream
sales
is
on
the
impulse
ice
cream
buying
category
rather
than
the
take
home
ice
cream
category.
Due
to
the
economic
pressure,
consumers
turn
to
more
affordable
indulgence
products
such
as
take
home
ice
creams.
This
resulted
in
the
take-­‐home
ice
cream
increasing
its
penetration
in
household
formats,
due
to
lower
prices
and
more
affordable
packaging.
(Euromonitor
Page 7 of 38

8. International,
2010)
The
sales
for
premium
ice
cream
on
the
other
hand
remains
more
or
less
unaffected
in
the
less
developed
Middle
Eastern
and
African
markets,
as
it
is
mostly
bought
by
wealthy
consumers
and
this
consumer
group
was
only
slightly
affected
by
the
recession.
Emerging
economies
predicted
to
drive
future
growth
The
global
ice
cream
sales
are
projected
to
grow
by
12%
in
retail
volume
terms
over
2009-­‐2014
with
emerging
economies
predicted
to
drive
the
future
growth
(Euromonitor
International,
2009).
Further,
research
shows
that
Asia-­‐Pacific
along
with
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
will
be
the
most
dynamic
regions
in
terms
of
growth.
Ice
cream
sales
in
Middle
East
and
Africa
specifically
are
projected
to
grow
by
20%
in
retail
volume
over
2009-­‐2014
(Euromonitor
International,
2010).
The
main
drivers
of
this
growth
are
relatively
warm
weather,
rapid
demographic
growth
and
the
steady
trade
up
from
artisanal
snacks
to
packaged
ice
cream
in
urban
areas.
The
Ice
cream
industry
in
UAE
The
ice
cream
market
in
UAE
is
very
big
and
reached
an
annual
consumption
of
US
$
56.6
million
in
2011.
The
market
is
expected
to
show
significant
growth
and
is
estimated
to
reach
an
annual
consumption
level
of
US
$
68.3
million
by
2018
(Datamonitor,
2012).
In
volume
terms,
11.4
million
liters
of
ice
cream
was
consumed
in
2011
with
the
consumption
estimated
to
reach
12.7
million
liters
in
2015
(Datamonitor,
2012).
The
graphs
below
show
the
ice
cream
consumption
trends
in
the
UAE.
Page 8 of 38

9.
Fig
2:
Ice
Cream
market
in
the
UAE
Fig
3:
Volume
Sales
of
Ice
Cream
in
the
UAE
Specialist
retailers
and
supermarkets
are
the
primary
channels
of
ice
cream
distribution
in
the
U.A.E.
In
2011,
33%
of
all
ice
cream
sales
came
from
specialist
retailers,
while
supermarkets/hypermarkets
have
a
30%
market
share
(Datamonitor,
2012).
This
channel
is
expected
to
grow
and
gain
further
share
in
the
coming
years.
These
outlets
have
superior
facilities
in
terms
of
branded
freezers
and
refrigerated
distribution
networks.
The
chart
below
shows
the
market
share
of
different
channels
of
distribution.
Page 9 of 38

10.
Fig
4:
Ice
Cream
Sales
by
channel
in
the
UAE
The
ice
cream
segment
can
be
classified
into
the
following:
impulse,
take
home
and
artisanal.
The
annual
sales
for
impulse
segment
stood
at
US
$29.5
million
in
2011.
The
sales
figures
for
take
home
and
artisanal
segments
were
US
18.3
million
and
US
$
8.5
million
respectively
(Datamonitor,
2012).
The
ice
cream
in
each
of
the
above
category
can
also
be
classified
on
the
basis
of
ingredients,
namely,
water
based
ice
cream
and
milk
based
ice
cream.
The
market
for
artisanal
ice
cream
is
very
fragmented.
The
market
shares
of
major
players
in
the
impulse
and
take
home
segment
are
shown
in
the
figures
below:
Page 10 of 38

11.
Fig
5:
Company
Shares
in
the
UAE
International
Foodstuffs
Co.
is
the
leading
payer
in
UAE
with
36
%
value
market
share
followed
by
Galadari
Ice
cream
Co
LLC
with
a
22
%
market
share.
International
Foodstuffs
Co.
operates
with
three
brands
in
the
UAE
market:
London
Dairy,
Igloo
and
Quanta.
The
market
share
distribution
for
the
Ice
cream
companies
can
be
seen
as
below:
Ice Cream Companies % Market share by volume
2011-12
Unilever Middle
East
2% 0%
Others
14%
Mars Chocolat International
France Foodstuffs Co
12% 36%
Galadari Ice
National
Cream Co LLC
Trading &
22%
Development
Est(NTDE)
14%
Fig
6:
Ice
Cream
Companies
%
Market
Share
by
Volume
There
has
been
an
increasing
trend
of
Value
added
ice
creams
with
healthier
variants
or
exotic
flavors
showing
good
response
in
the
UAE
market.
The
increasing
health
awareness
is
impacting
consumer
behavior
and
they
are
opting
for
cream
products
low
Page 11 of 38

12. in
sugar
and
fat
content.
Also
ice
cream
products
having
natural
ingredients
and
real
fruits
have
gained
popularity
and
seeing
increasing
growth
in
sales.
Chocolate
and
Vanilla
still
remain
the
most
popular
flavor
among
the
UAE
consumers.
The
regional
players
have
been
adding
new
flavors
like
chikoo,
lychee
and
mango
to
expand
the
range
of
flavors.
The
sharp
rise
in
the
number
of
foreign
expatriates
has
created
new
major
consumer
groups
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates
and
it
is
expected
that
focus
on
offering
a
wide
menu
will
grow,
as
players
seek
to
appeal
to
a
wide
range
of
ethnic
groups.
This
is
the
main
reason
for
the
companies
going
for
different
variants
and
texture
combinations.
London
dairy
has
been
one
of
the
companies
to
quickly
adapt
to
these
new
flavor
trends
by
launching
premium
varieties
like
Caramel
Crunch
and
Bravo
Biscottino.
The
Brand
also
launched
Chikoo
flavor
recently.
A
rather
significant
trend
was
in
the
bulk
take
home
dairy
ice
cream
segment.
It
showed
a
dynamic
growth
rate
of
8
%.
The
reason
for
this
trend
is
the
convenience
factor
where
in
the
consumer
has
the
flexibility
to
store
it
and
consume
it
as
and
when
desired.
This
segment
has
also
seen
innovations
in
packaging
sizes.
London
Dairy
came
up
with
ice
cream
cups
(125
ml)
catering
to
the
growing
health
concerns
with
regard
to
portion
sizes.
Baskin
Robbins
owned
by
Galadari
Ice
cream
Co
LLC.
is
the
most
popular
Ice
cream
brand
followed
by
Igloo
and
London
Dairy.
The
market
share
for
the
top
brands
in
terms
of
sales
is
shown
below.
Page 12 of 38

13. Ice Cream Brands % Market Share by sales
Others Baskin
19% Robbins
Ben & Jerry's 21%
3%
Quanta
3% Galaxy Igloo
7% 18%
Haagen-
Dazs London
14% Dairy
15%
Fig
7:
Ice
Cream
Brands
%
Market
Share
by
sales
Focusing
towards
the
health
consciousness
trends,
consumption
of
substitutes
like
frozen
yogurt
is
also
increasing.
To
tackle
this,
ice
cream
companies
are
also
coming
up
with
low
fat
ice
cream
variants.
However,
health
consciousness
is
unlikely
to
affect
the
ice
cream
market
in
the
UAE.
As
per
a
Euromonitor
study
published
in
November
2012,
consumers
are
inclined
more
towards
tasty
food
variants
instead
of
diet
food
varieties.
Frozen
yogurt
market
representing
less
than
1%
of
total
ice
cream
sales
is
probably
a
testimony
of
consumer
indulgence
towards
ice
creams
with
lesser
worries
about
the
health.
Moreover,
given
a
slow
growth
of
3.7%
of
the
frozen
yogurt
market,
it
does
not
possess
any
significant
threat
to
the
ice
cream
market
(Datamonitor,
2012).
Consumer
food
Service
in
UAE
Baskin
Robbins
is
the
only
ice
cream
brand,
which
figures
in
the
list
of
leading
brands
in
consumer
foodservice
category
in
UAE.
The
brand
benefits
from
strong
global
presence
and
mighty
domestic
franchise
in
UAE.
(Euromonitor
International,
2012)
Brand
Global
Brand
Owner
Outlets
Baskin
Robins
Galadari
Ice
Cream
Co
LLC
113
Starbucks
Starbucks
Corp
99
McDonald’s
McDonald’s
Corp
95
Page 13 of 38

14. Subway
Doctor’s
Associates
Inc.
83
Costa
Coffee
Associate
Inc.
80
KFC
Yum!
Brands
Inc.
75
Dunkin
Donuts
Dunkin’
Brands
Inc.
65
Pizza
Hut
Yum!
Brands
Inc.
62
Burger
King
Burger
King
Holding
Inc.
55
Gloria
Jean’s
Jireh
International
Pvt.
Ltd.
40
Consumer’s
weight
concerns
appeared
to
be
outweighed
by
a
desire
for
indulgence
and
there
are
no
signs
of
consumer’s
demand
for
indulgence
slowing.
Ice
cream
companies
are
adapting
entire
menus
to
reduce
fat
and
sugar
content,
and
are
likely
to
offer
a
handful
of
naturally
healthy
options
for
those
who
are
concerned
about
their
weight.
This
will
help
address
a
majority
of
consumers,
who
are
likely
to
remain
concerned
about
their
weight
but
who
will
do
little
to
address
this
issue.
4. Research
Methodology
The
following
figure
provides
an
outline
of
the
research
methodology
for
the
study.
Page 14 of 38

15.
Fig
8:
Research
Methodology
4.1. Problem
Definition
and
Objectives
The
ice
cream
industry
is
an
ever-­‐growing
industry
especially
in
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
and
as
part
of
our
research
we
intent
to
understand
the
usage
and
attitude
of
the
consumers
of
ice
cream.
The
objectives
of
the
study
are:
1. Study
the
Ice
Cream
Industry
in
Dubai,
UAE
–
The
first
intention
of
this
research
is
to
study
and
analyze
the
ice
cream
industry
in
the
UAE.
This
will
include
a
study
to
determine
the
most
popular
brands,
the
recent
trends
in
the
industry,
the
future
growth
of
the
industry,
etc.
2. Study
the
Usage
and
Attitude
of
the
consumers
of
ice
cream
3. Identify
the
top
ice
cream
brands
in
UAE
and
user
perceptions
towards
them
4.2. Research
Design
Once
the
context
and
scope
was
decided,
we
selected
and
designed
our
research
methods.
We
decided
to
carry
out
secondary
research
by
reading
and
researching
Page 15 of 38

16. various
research
journals,
articles
and
reports
about
the
global
ice
cream
industry
with
a
specific
focus
on
the
ice
cream
industry
in
the
UAE.
For
primary
research,
we
decided
to
conduct
a
quantitative
survey
to
the
usage
and
attitude
study.
We
planned
to
conduct
fact
to
face
interviews
for
the
survey.
4.3. Sampling
We
decided
to
take
a
sample
size
of
30
for
the
data
to
be
statistically
valid.
The
method
of
sampling
used
was
convenience
sampling.
4.4. Data
Collection
With
the
above
plan
in
place,
we
then
went
to
the
food
courts,
hypermarkets
and
local
grocery
stores
to
interview
consumers
to
understand
what
forms
important
parameters
for
them
with
regard
to
purchasing
ice
cream,
their
preferences,
their
usage
patterns,
their
attitudes,
etc.
4.5. Data
Processing
and
Analysis
On
receiving
the
data
from
the
survey
conducted,
the
data
was
then
electronically
transferred
to
software
such
as
SPSS
and
Qualtrics
for
analysis.
The
analysis
helped
us
validate
certain
trends,
behavior
and
points
that
we
came
across
in
the
research
journals.
4.6. Conclusion
and
Report
Based
on
the
data
analysis,
certain
trends
about
the
consumer
attitude
and
usage
were
identified
and
reported
as
conclusions
of
the
project.
Page 16 of 38

17. 5. Data
Analysis
The
objective
of
our
research
project
was
to
understand
the
usage
and
attitude
of
consumers
of
ice
cream
in
Dubai.
As
part
of
our
survey
we
asked
respondents
various
questions
to
understand
their
demography
and
also
their
psyche.
Also
we
needed
to
understand
their
choice
of
preferred
brands
as
well
as
the
factors
that
drove
them
to
purchase
those
brands.
The
data
collected
revealed
certain
surprising
facts
and
insights
into
the
consumer
world.
Key
Customer
Insights
A
part
of
our
survey
also
consisted
of
open-­‐ended
questions
to
help
us
get
a
deeper
understanding
of
the
inner
feelings
or
subconscious
feelings
of
consumers.
The
main
reason
for
consuming
ice
cream
as
identified
by
many
respondents
was
the
sweet,
yummy
taste
of
ice
cream.
Some
associated
the
act
of
consuming
ice
cream
as
a
fun
and
feel
good
activity
while
others
consumed
ice
cream
to
socialize
and
have
a
good
time
with
their
friends
and
family.
For
some,
it
is
a
way
to
break
the
monotony
of
their
life.
Few
respondents
said
there
was
no
particular
reason
for
consuming
ice
cream,
and
ate
on
impulse
rather
than
a
deep
emotion,
while
few
also
said
that
it
provided
them
respite
from
the
Dubai
heat.
Sweetness
and
Happiness
emerged
as
the
strongest
associations
with
the
word
Ice
cream.
Most
of
the
respondents
associated
the
term
‘Sweet’
or
‘Joy’
to
express
their
connotation
of
ice
cream.
Many
identified
functional
benefits
like
flavors
and
taste
as
their
top
of
mind
recall
association
with
ice
cream.
Some
respondents
could
derive
emotional
benefits
of
reinventing
their
“childhood
memories”
by
having
ice
cream.
One
respondent
even
related
technology
with
ice
cream,
as
he
mentioned
that
ice
cream
reminds
him
of
the
“latest
android
version
of
ice-­‐cream
sandwich”.
Also,
one
respondent
who
declared
herself
an
ice
cream
lover
said
that
the
mere
mention
of
the
word
ice-­‐cream
made
her
feel
like
having
it.
Page 17 of 38

18. Usage
As
per
the
convenient
sampling
done,
some
significant
observations
could
be
made
about
their
consumption
pattern.
One
such
observation
was
with
respect
to
the
frequency
of
consumption.
63%
of
the
surveyed
respondents
mentioned
that
they
purchased
ice
creams
at
least
once
a
week.
This
clearly
illustrates
the
fact
that
ice
cream
is
a
frequent
purchase
item
in
Dubai.
The
frequency
pattern
can
be
showed
in
the
pie
chart
below.
Frequence of Consumption
17% at least once a
week
at least once a
20% fortnight
63%
at least once a
month
Fig
9:
Frequency
of
Consumption
Also
it
was
found
that
high
price
or
an
increase
in
price
had
minimum
effect
on
the
purchase
pattern.
73%
of
the
surveyed
showed
price
insensitivity
towards
their
favorite
brand.
This
can
be
shown
from
the
results
below.
Page 18 of 38

19. Effect of High price on purchase
(10- no effect 1-maximum effect)
7-­‐10
4-­‐6
1-­‐3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Fig
10:
Effect
of
High
Price
on
Purchase
The
ice
creams
buyers
showed
bias
in
terms
of
their
favorite
flavors
and
the
form
of
ice
cream
they
purchased.
Cream
based
ice
cream
seemed
the
clear
favorite
with
everyone
preferring
it
to
water
based
or
sorbet
ice
creams.
Also
ice
creams
in
cup
and
cone
were
very
popular
amongst
the
consumers.
This
is
illustrated
below.
13%
27% Cone
Candy/stick
Tub
32% Cup
17%
Dessert
11%
Fig
10:
Preference
of
form
of
ice
cream
Page 19 of 38

20. Also,
chocolate
proved
to
be
the
unanimous
choice
with
42
%
majority
as
the
favorite
flavor,
keeping
in
line
with
worldwide
trend.
Vanilla
was
the
2nd
most
liked
flavor
Favourite Ice cream flavours
Others
Coffee 16%
5%
Chocolate
Strawberry 42%
13%
Vanilla
24%
Fig
11:
Preferred
ice
cream
flavor
Ice
Cream
Consumption
The
below
chart
shows
that
of
all
the
ice
cream
brands
in
Dubai,
London
Dairy
is
the
most
consumed
brand
by
users
at
57%.
The
next
most
popular
brand
in
terms
of
consumption
is
Baskin
Robbins
at
43%.
Both
these
brands
of
ice
cream
happen
to
fall
in
the
semi-­‐premium
price
range
and
are
relatively
high
on
availability
as
compared
to
other
ice
cream
brands
which
are
either
too
premium
priced
such
as
Cold
Stone,
Häagen
Dazs
and
Ben
&
Jerry’s
which
are
available
only
in
specialty
ice
cream
parlors
or
outlets.
A
rather
surprising
fact
is
that
brands
like
Igloo
and
Walls
although
priced
lower
than
the
other
brands
mentioned
below
seem
to
be
less
consumed.
A
reason
behind
this
could
also
be
that
a
majority
of
the
respondents
surveyed
happened
to
come
from
medium
to
high
income
and
hence
preferred
to
consume
the
higher
priced
and
more
renowned
ice
cream
brands
Page 20 of 38

21. 60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Fig12:
Ice
Cream
consumption
in
Dubai
Brand
Recall
/
Brand
Awareness
London
Dairy
and
Basking
Robbins
both
stood
out
as
brands
that
are
on
the
top
of
mind
of
consumers.
60%
of
respondents,
all
of
whom
are
frequent
consumers
of
ice
cream
recalled
these
two
brands
when
asked
to
mention
ice
cream
brands.
Galaxy
and
Magnum
also
did
relatively
well
in
the
test
of
brand
recall
or
brand
awareness.
Surprisingly,
iconic
brands
such
as
Häagen
Dazs
and
Cold
Stone
Creamery
did
not
seem
to
be
top
of
mind
despite
their
much
more
famous
brand
names
as
compared
to
London
Dairy
and
Baskin
Robbins.
Also
local
brands
such
as
Igloo
and
Unikai
failed
to
get
a
mention
when
it
came
to
occupying
a
share
of
the
consumers
mind.
Page 21 of 38

22. 18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Fig
13:
Top
of
mind
brands
Favorite
Ice
Cream
Brands
/
Most
Preferred
Brand
London
Dairy
and
Baskin
Robbins
both
garnered
an
equal
number
of
votes
from
respondents
as
their
favorite
ice
cream
brand.
Cold
Stone
and
Häagen
Dazs
are
also
among
the
top
four
brands
chosen
by
the
respondents.
While
both,
London
Dairy
and
Baskin
Robbins
shared
an
equal
preference
amongst
consumers,
they
seem
to
be
associated
with
rather
different
value
propositions.
The
major
reason
why
Baskin
Robbins
was
preferred
as
a
favorite
brand
was
the
variety
of
flavors
that
it
had.
Almost
all
the
respondents
who
choose
Baskin
Robbins
as
their
favorite
brand
were
unanimous
in
singling
out
the
variety
as
the
major
reason.
London
Dairy
on
the
other
hand
seemed
to
have
a
convenience
factor
associated
with
it.
Almost
all
the
respondents
who
choose
London
Dairy
as
their
favorite
brand
singled
out
the
convenience
factors
such
as
availability,
relatively
low
price,
packaging
etc.
as
the
reasons
behind
their
choice.
Page 22 of 38

23. 8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
London Baskin Cold Häagen Walls Galaxy Magnum Gelato
Dairy Robbins Stone Dazs
Creamery
Fig
14:
Most
Preferred
Brands
Factors
that
most
influence
ice
cream
purchase
Several
factors
drive
ice
cream
purchases
and
several
factors
influence
the
purchase
of
ice
cream.
We
tried
to
analyze
8
broad
factors
that
have
a
role
in
the
brand
of
ice
cream
purchased.
Survey
results
showed
that
the
number
one
factor
that
influences
purchase
decision
is
‘Variety
of
Flavors’.
More
than
half
the
respondents
ranked
this
factor
as
the
most
important
or
second
most
important
factor
behind
ice
cream
purchase.
Rank 1
Recommendations
Advertising
Availability
Promotions & Deals
Brand Name
Variety of Flavors
Price
Packaging
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Fig
15:
Factors
influencing
Purchase
Decision
–
Rank
1
The
second
most
important
factor
that
influenced
ice
cream
purchase
was
‘Price’.
Price
also
played
a
major
role
in
deciding
how
often
consumers
purchased
ice
creams
and
Page 23 of 38

24. which
category
of
ice
creams
thy
purchases
(Premium,
semi-­‐premium
or
standard)
depending
on
their
willingness
to
pay.
Rank 2
Recommendations
Advertising
Availability
Promotions & Deals
Brand Name
Variety of Flavors
Price
Packaging
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fig
16:
Factors
influencing
Purchase
Decision
–
Rank
2
While
variety
of
flavors,
followed
by
price,
was
the
most
important
factor,
recommendations
and
advertisements
were
almost
negligible
when
it
came
to
importance.
This
probably
gives
us
an
idea
that
with
ice
cream
people
generally
do
not
go
ahead
with
recommendations
as
every
individual
has
different
taste
buds
and
also
different
price
points.
Both
the
figures
below
clearly
indicate
that
advertising
is
the
least
important
factor
considered
by
consumers.
This
means
that
ice
cream
advertisements
are
either
unable
to
strike
a
chord
with
the
consumers
or
adverting
is
not
an
effective
marketing
tool
for
this
category
of
users.
Rank
8
Recommendations
Advertising
Availability
Promotions & Deals
Brand Name
Variety of Flavors
Price
Packaging
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Fig
17:
Factors
influencing
Purchase
Decision
–
Rank
8
Page 24 of 38

25.
Rank 7
Recommendations
Advertising
Availability
Promotions & Deals
Brand Name
Variety of Flavors
Price
Packaging
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Fig
18:
Factors
influencing
Purchase
Decision
–
Rank
7
Low
calorie
ice
cream
From
the
figure
below,
we
notice
that
the
awareness
for
sugar
free
/
low
calorie
ice
cream
is
relatively
high
with
87%
respondents
affirming
this
fact.
However,
only
37%
of
respondents
were
willing
to
switch
to
low
calorie
ice
creams,
as
shown
in
the
figure
below.
So
while
we
can
positively
confirm
that
awareness
of
sugar
free
ice
creams
is
high,
the
functional
benefits
haven’t
been
able
to
break
through
the
emotional
barrier
consumers
have
with
existing
brands
of
ice
cream.
Awareness of sugar free / low fat ice creams?
13%
Yes
No
87%
Fig
19:
Awareness
of
sugar
free/
low
fat
ice
creams
Page 25 of 38

26.
Willingless to switch to sugar free / low fat ice creams
Willing
37% Not willing
43%
Neutral
20%
Fig
20:
Willingness
to
switch
to
sugar
free
/
low
fat
ice
creams
Page 26 of 38

27. 6. Conclusion
6.1
Recommendations
Advertising:
As
our
research
shows
that
advertising
does
not
have
a
major
effect
on
consumers
when
they
make
their
purchasing
decision,
we
recommend
that
marketers
need
to
make
their
communication
strategy
more
engaging
to
be
able
to
influence
buyers.
Product
Portfolio
Variety
of
Flavors:
We
recommend
ice
cream
brands
to
keep
innovating
and
introduce
new
exotic
flavors
to
suit
taste
buds
of
ice
cream
buyers.
Low
Calorie:
Although
a
significant
section
of
market
is
health
conscious,
majority
of
consumers
are
not
willing
to
switch
to
low
calorie
ice
creams.
We
recommend
that
companies
should
focus
more
on
developing
tasty
variants
instead
of
focusing
on
offering
healthy
ice
creams.
They
concentrate
on
the
core
benefit
of
ice
creams
like
flavours,
packaging
etc.
rather
than
coming
out
with
new
products
with
additional
health
benefits.
Consumption:
Each
respondent
preferred
to
consume
cream
based
ice
creams
over
water
based
ice
creams.
Manufacturer
should
look
to
innovate
in
the
cream
based
ice-­‐cream
category
as
this
is
the
popular
choice.
Branding:
Creating
a
brand,
which
is
loved
by
consumers,
should
be
of
prime
importance
for
ice
cream
manufacturers.
As
people
don’t
mind
spending
extra
for
the
ice-­‐cream
brand
they
love.
This
will
give
companies
an
edge
in
the
highly
competitive
and
growing
market.
Ice
cream
buyers
are
more
attracted
towards
international
brands
like
London
Dairy,
Baskin
Robbins
etc.
and
are
willing
to
pay
high
prices
for
them.
These
brands
could
therefore
leverage
on
the
brand
loyal
customers
and
continue
charging
premium
from
them.
The
local
ice
cream
brands
like
Unikai
are
not
very
popular.
They
should
use
low
Page 27 of 38

28. pricing
strategy
to
attract
the
non-­‐brand
conscious
customers
as
price
is
one
of
the
key
purchase
drivers
for
them.
6.2
Limitations
• This
research
was
conducted
using
convenient
sampling.
Convenient
sampling
was
done
primarily
because
of
location
and
permission
constraints.
• Further,
the
secondary
research
consisted
primarily
of
resources
readily
available
free
resources
on
the
Internet.
• As
interviewers
conducted
the
surveys,
there
could
be
a
possibility
that
a
status
bias
might
have
influenced
some
of
the
responses.
• Lastly,
the
research
did
not
differentiate
between
take
home
consumption
and
onsite
consumption
of
ice
cream
6.3
Scope
for
further
Research
Our
research
shows
that
consumers
are
not
willing
to
make
a
shift
to
low
fat
ice
creams.
However
there
is
further
research
required
to
understand
that
why
these
consumers
are
not
willing
to
shift
to
low
fat
ice
creams?
Besides,
brands
must
probe
further
to
understand
that
whether
consumers
are
equally
price
insensitive
when
they
consume
any
other
ice-­‐cream
as
they
are
when
consuming
their
favorite
brand
of
ice
cream.
Also,
take
home
and
on
site
consumption
patterns
can
be
studied
in
further
detail.
Page 28 of 38

29. 5. Annexure
9.1. Questionnaire
Dear
Respondent,
We
are
students
of
SP
Jain
School
of
Global
Management
and
as
part
of
our
MBA
research
project;
we
are
trying
to
understand
the
consumer
behavior
in
the
ice
cream
industry
in
Dubai.
This
research
will
help
us
in
inferring
the
usage
and
attitude
of
consumers
towards
ice
and
accordingly
make
managerial
recommendations
to
the
important
brands
in
the
market.
Please
spare
maximum
10-­‐15
minutes
to
share
your
valuable
opinion
by
answering
the
following
questions.
Information
provided
will
be
kept
highly
confidential.
I
declare
that
this
interview
has
been
carried
out
strictly
in
accordance
with
your
specification
and
has
been
conducted
within
the
approval
of
SP
Jain
School
of
Global
Management.
Interviewer’s
signature
Page 29 of 38

30.
SECTION
A:
SCREENER
QUESTIONS
1. Do
you
consume
ice
cream?
Options
Code
Criteria
Yes
0
CONTINUE
No
1
TERMINATE
2. Do
you
reside
in
the
UAE?
Options
Code
Criteria
Yes
0
CONTINUE
No
1
TERMINATE
3. For
how
long
have
you
been
residing
in
the
UAE?
Options
Code
Criteria
More
than
3
months
0
CONTINUE
Less
than
3
months
1
TERMINATE
4. Do
you
reside
in
the
UAE?
Options
Code
Criteria
At
least
once
a
day
0
CONTINUE
At
least
once
a
week
1
CONTINUE
At
least
once
a
2
CONTINUE
fortnight
At
least
once
a
3
CONTINUE
month
Occasionally
(less
4
TERMINATE
than
once
a
month)
5. Which
age
group
do
you
fall
under?
Options
Code
Criteria
Below
13
years
0
TERMINATE
Between
13-­‐19
years
1
CONTINUE
Between
20-­‐27
years
2
CONTINUE
Between
27-­‐34
years
3
CONTINUE
Above
34
years
4
TERMINATE
Page 30 of 38

31. SECTION
B:
DEMOGRAPHIC
QUESTIONS
6. Record
Gender
Options
Code
Male
0
Female
1
7. Record
Nationality
Options
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Emirati
0
Arab
Expat
1
Asian
Expat
2
European
Expat
3
Other
Expat
4
8. Record
Marital
Status
Option
Code
Single
0
Married
1
9. Record
Occupation
Option
Code
Student
0
Salaried
Professional
1
Self-­‐employed
2
Home
maker
3
Currently
4
Unemployed
10. What
is
your
monthly
income
(If
student,
Pocket
money)
Option
Code
Below
AED
5,000
0
AED
5,000
-­‐
10,000
1
AED
10,000
-­‐
20,000
2
Above
AED
20,000
3
Don't
want
to
4
disclose
Page 31 of 38

32.
11. What
do
you
prefer
to
do
in
your
spare
time?
Option
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Reading
0
Outdoor
Activities
1
Travelling
2
Cultural
Arts
3
Socializing
4
TV
/
Internet
5
Others
6
SECTION
III
–
USAGE
AND
ATTITUDE
QUESTIONS
12. What
comes
to
your
mind
when
you
hear
the
word
‘ice
cream?
13. Why
do
you
consume
ice
cream?
14. When
do
you
mostly
consume
ice
cream?
Option
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Occasions
&
celebrations
0
After
meals
1
When
I
feel
low
2
Impulse
-­‐
When
I
see
ice
cream
3
or
feel
like
having
Others
6
15. In
what
form
do
you
consume
ice
cream?
Option
Code
Cone
0
Cup
1
Candy
(Stick
or
bar)
1
Page 32 of 38

33. Tub
or
Brick
1
Ice
cream
desserts
1
e.g.
sundae
/
float
16. What
type
of
ice
cream
do
you
like?
Option
Code
Cream
Based
0
Water
Based
1
17. Which
is
your
favorite
ice
cream
flavor?
Option
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Chocolate
0
Vanilla
1
Strawberry
1
Coffee
1
Others
1
18. Where
do
you
purchase
ice
creams
from?
Option
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Supermarkets
0
Grocery
shop
/
1
Convenience
store
Ice
cream
outlet
/
1
parlor
Restaurant
1
Others
1
19. Who
do
you
consume
ice
cream
with?
Option
Code
If
Other,
please
specify
Myself
0
With
Family
1
With
Friends
1
Others
1
20. Does
the
Dubai
climate
influence
your
ice
cream
eating
habits?
Option
Code
Yes
0
Page 33 of 38

34. No
1
21. Have
you
heard
of
sugar
free
/
low
fat
ice
creams?
Option
Code
Yes
0
No
1
22. If
made
available,
would
you
prefer
to
consume
sugar
free
/
low
fat
ice
creams
(Rate
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
1
being
least
preferred
and
10
being
most
preferred)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
23. Would
you
prefer
to
buy
substitutes
like
yogurts,
fruits
or
other
deserts
in
place
of
ice
cream
(Rate
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
1
being
least
preferred
and
10
being
most
preferred)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
SECTION
IV
–
IMPORTANCE
OF
ATTRIBUTES
QUESTIONS
24. Purchase
Influence:
Rank
the
factors
that
most
influence
your
ice
cream
purchase
Factors
Rank
Rank
Rank
Rank
Rank
Rank
Rank
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Packaging
Price
Variety
of
Flavors
Brand
Name
Promotions
&
Deals
Availability
Advertising
Recommendations
Page 34 of 38

35. SECTION
V:
GENERIC
BRAND
RELATED
QUESTIONS
25. Which
ice
cream
brands
are
you
aware
of
Brand
First
Other
Aided
Mentioned
Mentions
Baskin
Robbins
1
1
1
London
Dairy
2
2
2
Magnum
3
3
3
Walls
4
4
4
Cold
Stone
Creamery
5
5
5
Unikai
6
6
6
Igloo
7
7
7
Häagen
Dazs
8
8
8
Galaxy
9
9
9
Mars
10
10
10
Snickers
11
11
11
Nestle
12
12
12
Ben
&
Jerry’s
13
13
13
Others
(Pls
Specify)
14
14
14
26. Which
brand
of
ice
cream
do
you
currently
consume?
Brand
Code
Baskin
Robbins
1
London
Dairy
2
Magnum
3
Walls
4
Cold
Stone
Creamery
5
Unikai
6
Igloo
7
Häagen
Dazs
8
Galaxy
9
Mars
10
Snickers
11
Nestle
12
Ben
&
Jerry’s
13
Others
(Pls
specify)
14
Page 35 of 38

36. SECTION
VI:
SPECIFIC
BRAND
RELATED
QUESTIONS
27. Which
is
your
favorite
brand?
28. Why
is
the
brand
chosen
in
the
above
question
your
favorite
brand?
29. Do
you
always
buy
your
favorite
brand
of
ice
cream
creams
(Rate
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
1
being
never
and
10
being
always)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
30. Do
you
mind
spending
a
little
extra
for
your
preferred
brand
of
ice
cream
(Rate
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
1
being
strongly
mind
and
10
not
at
all)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Page 36 of 38

37. 9.2. Raw
Data
The
responses
of
the
survey
are
entered
in
the
embedded
excel
sheet
(below).
Raw data.xlsx
Page 37 of 38

38. 10. References
Euromonitor.
(2011).
Euromonitor
International
:
Industry
Overview.
Singapore:
Euromonitor
International.
NPD.
(2012).
Industry
Expertise
-­‐
Fashion.
From
NPD
Group:
https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/industryexpertise/fashion/
Department
of
Statistics
of
Singapore.
(2011).
Singstat.com.
From
Census
2010:
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/sif2012.pdf
Euromonitor.
(2012).
Apparel
in
Singapore.
Singapore:
Euromonitor
International.
www.infopedia.nl.sg.
(n.d.).
From
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1475_2009-­‐02-­‐26.html
Euromonitor
International.
(2009).
Demand
for
ice
cream
overpowers
recession
.
Euromonitor
International.
Euromonitor
International.
(2010).
Ice
cream
in
the
Middle
East
and
Africa
-­‐
demand
grows
in
the
face
of
uncertainty
.
Euromonitor
International.
Euromonitor
International.
(2012).
CONSUMER
FOODSERVICE
IN
THE
UNITED
ARAB
EMIRATES
.
Euromonitor
International.
Page 38 of 38