One of the year’s top trends, “Lighter Enjoyment,” sees consumers seeking out lighter food and beverages that have fewer calories yet still offer the premium appeal of good taste and good-for-you ingredients. And Unilever’s Breyers, the second largest ice cream maker in the United States, got an early start on this trend last summer with the release of Breyers Delights, a low-calorie ice cream made with naturally sourced flavors. The launch was a success for Breyers, and in March of this year they announced an opportunity for even more “Lighter Enjoyment,” with the release of Breyers Delights Minis.
Breyers Delights Minis come in two flavors, both of which are favorites from the regular-size Delights line: Breyers Delights Minis Vanilla Cupcake (80 calories per cup), and Breyers Delights Minis Creamy Chocolate (70 calories per cup). Each single-serve cup contains five grams of protein and between 2 and 2.5g of fat, and is made from 100 percent Grade A milk and cream, with colors and flavors from natural sources. Breyers Delights Minis also contain the low-calorie sweeteners erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and stevia leaf extract. A pack of four cups has an SRP of between $4.49 and $5.79.
This single-serve launch is particularly interesting when seen in the context of a lengthy battle for low-cal ice cream supremacy. Competitor Halo Top has enjoyed massive success with their light ice cream pints. Halo Top Founder and CEO Justin Woolverton noted that sales in 2016 increased about 2,500 percent from 2015, and by July 2017 the Los Angeles-based company’s low-cal offering became the best-selling pint of ice cream in US grocery stores.
According to a New York Post article from January of this year, Unilever’s first response was acquisition: the conglomerate considered buying Halo Top in 2017 for around $2 billion. The deal never went through, and instead Breyers focused on the launch of their rival low-cal pint, Breyers Delights, which many noted was a very similar product to Halo Top, right down to the large calorie count printed front-and-center on the container. While Halo Top has a larger range of flavors and a loyal fan following, acquired through the brand’s clever use of social media marketing (such as sending pints to YouTube influencers), Breyers is typically less expensive, and many claim it tastes as good, if not better, than Halo Top. And now Breyers has something Halo Top doesn’t: single-serve portions.
It’s a smart move, especially as Halo Top has recently garnered some criticism for their use of marketing slogans such as “Stop when you hit the bottom” and “No bowl, no regrets.” Their suggestion that you should eat a whole pint in one go led one commenter to observe that the company was exploiting “Americans’ love of bingeing,” and to ask “why don’t Halo Top’s fans just eat a little bit of real ice cream that tastes good and has a normal mouthfeel?” And when asked to comment for a Time magazine article entitled “Is Halo Top Ice Cream Good For You?,” one dietician responded simply: “No one should eat a whole pint of ice cream.”
By offering a single-serve option, Breyers avoids this criticism, while being able to provide an even lighter option: a “sensible” serving for a very low 70-80 calories. In commenting on the launch, this Delisharticle observes: “As much as Halo Top and the like tout eating an entire pint guiltlessly as a main draw, no one really feels great after that much ice cream, low-cal or not. It’s no surprise then that a mini version would eventually come.” And, as Pete Harbour, Breyers marketing director, notes, perhaps somewhat pointedly, in the press release announcing the launch, “We’ve made it easier than ever to open up, scoop down to the bottom and indulge without all the guilt.”
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