Bad weather for ice cream, excellent for chocolate

Freia milk chocolateFreia Milk chocolate is an iconic Norwegian product. Photo: Freia / Facebook.

Bad weather for ice-cream, excellent for chocolate

The weather plays a big role when Norwegians fill their shopping carts. Low summer temperatures have led to more sales of chocolate at the expense of ice cream.


“The trend for the sale of chocolate has been flat earlier this year compared with the same period last year. The summer sales have increased a lot, though – by about 30 per cent,” Communications Director of Orkla Foods, Dag Olav Stokken, tells NTB.

“We know, generally speaking, that the weather is affecting chocolate consumption. If it is warm, the sale goes down,” Stokken explains.

Norgesgruppen, which consists of Kiwi, Meny, Spar and Joker, also reports of increased chocolate sales.

“The ice cream sales have declined, but the chocolate sales increased by about 20 per cent in May and June,” Communications Manager of Norgesgruppen, Kine Søyland, comments.

Normal ice cream summer

The ice cream sales of Norgesgruppen have dropped almost six per cent compared with 2018.

“Norwegians know how to enjoy themselves. Even if the weather is bad and we eat less ice cream, the wages of sin remains reasonably stable,” Kine Søyland smiles.

Coop Norge experiences a simultaneous increase in chocolate and a decline in ice cream sales compared with the exceptional summer of 2018. The decline in ice cream sales was 4 per cent in June.  Communications Manager of Coop Norway,  Lise Mette Kjellberg, believes that the ice cream sale is in line with expectations.

“Other than that, it is a pretty normal summer when it comes to product sales,” Kjellberg states.

 

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No change due to swine documentary

The preliminary sales figures also indicate that the ‘barbecue weather’ has a greater impact on the sale of Norwegian swine, than the NRK documentary aired June 19th. The conditions for pigs on several Norwegian farms – uncovered in the ‘Brennpunkt’ documentary – not only upset the public but also led to several police reports.

It is, however, too early to say whether the documentary has had an impact on summer sales, according to several distributors and suppliers that NTB has been in contact with.

“We are unable to see any changes in sales figures attributable to a changed consumption pattern following the documentary. The few factual changes can be explained by campaigns, offers and the lack of ‘barbecue weather’,” Kjellberg concludes.

Nortura hasn’t noticed a decline in sales of pig products either, while Rema 1000 states that they have noticed a larger focus on organic pig products and animal welfare.


© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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