Haagen Dazs Competitor Analysis Haagen-Dazs

Haagen Dazs

Competitor Analysis

Haagen-Dazs competes roughly against all other ice cream companies, and more narrowly against other premium ice creams. As such, it faces competition from major companies like Ben & Jerry's and Nestle, but also myriad smaller boutique producers of premium ice cream. Some of these have only regional or local distribution -- a selection of these brands can be found for example in the freezer at Whole Foods, for example. Regional distribution is common in the ice cream industry (IDFA, 2013). Ice cream is a luxury product (IDFA, 2013, 2), so therefore it is assumed that customers who can afford better ice cream would purchase it. The implication of this assumption is that Haagen-Dazs does not compete on price, nor does it compete against mainstream ice creams that occupy the lower price points.

Within the premium ice cream segment, Haagen-Dazs can be compared against its competitors along the axes of quality and availability. Quality is important because ice cream is a luxury good; availability is critical in retail because most customers will buy whatever brand is available in their local store. Quality is generally the result of a perception - the brand image that Haagen-Dazs has. Haagen-Dazs wants to be perceived as the best grocery store brand of ice cream, aiming to combine a high level of availability with strong perceptions about its quality and the innovativeness of its flavors. Haagen-Dazs has a strong market share and competitive position, so most rivals seek to different themselves away from Haagen-Dazs. A brand analysis questionnaire aiming to study brand perceptions was handed out at two stores -- Whole Foods and a mainstream grocery store -- to determine brand perceptions of the different premium ice cream brands.

Brand Image Survey

Ben & Jerry's (owned by Unilever) scores high on the quality and innovation dynamics, and has a high degree of availability. Its flavors are considered to be more fun and more creative than those of Haagen-Dazs, which was scored as more luxurious and decadent. In terms of favorability, most consumers have roughly the same degree of favorability for each of these ice cream brands. Some consumers had a distinct preference for one over the other, while other consumers liked both, but for different reasons. The conclusions that one can draw is that Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs are sufficiently differentiated from one another, but have roughly equally high perceptions among consumers.

Breyer's is another major ice cream brand that seeks to compete in the premium category. Their branding is more "American" than Haagen-Dazs, and it is made by Unilever (H-D is made by Nestle). Breyer's scores well on the perceptions list, but lower than either Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. It effectively straddles the line between mainstream ice cream and the premium category. Recipe changes since Unilever bought the brand have harmed Breyer's image, which apparently used to be more closely aligned with the premium segment. This is likely because Unilever has Ben & Jerry's in that segment already.

The smaller brands in the market suffered from significantly brand awareness, compared with Haagen-Dazs. There was not a single respondent who had never heard of Haagen-Dazs, even among those who do not eat ice cream. Among those who do eat ice cream, minor brands often had a low level of awareness. Some brands include Three Twins, Blue Bell, Turkey Hill, and several dozen others across the country. Among those who expressed awareness of the minor brands, most had a 'favorable' or 'very favorable' opinion, and were pleased with the overall quality. Thus, while the minor brands appear to have a good level of differentiation they are constrained by poor awareness levels that might reflect the relatively small distribution of those brands.

Strengths & Weaknesses

The competition is generally strong with respect to differentiation. Most competitors have clearly-defined their positions in the market and their approaches to ice cream. For the most part, competition appears to be waged on the basis of this differentiation and on distribution. Over time, competitors whose products are strong enough will focus on building their distribution, especially getting into more mainstream grocery stores. At present, Haagen-Dazs competes primarily with Ben & Jerry's in the premium segment in grocery stores. The survey indicated that Nestle was not a direct competitor as previously believed. Most competitors therefore are weak in terms of their distribution, and only the guys from Vermont can compete with Haagen-Dazs in this regard.