Every company and industry experiences competition, and Ben and Jerry’s is no different in the ice cream industry. Today ice cream is a $59 billion industry, with 90 percent market penetrations. Market penetration refers to “depth of sales in a market; the deeper the penetration, the higher the volume of product sales,” (www.Answers.com). Ice cream is very competitive because there are a variety of ways to sell it to customers. Some companies appeal to the obesity epidemic in America by selling frozen yogurts, light ice creams, and all natural ingredient ice creams. Some sell ice cream of the “future,” like Dippin’ Dots, and it ranked “#2 in Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 50 New Franchise Companies.” Companies like Cold Stone Creamery and Marble Slab mix ice creams with special ingredients (nuts and candy) on a refrigerated stone surfaces right in front of the customer. However, “the super-premium ice cream segment of the market is what’s really moving,” says Jon Jameson, president and CEO of MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream & Treatery (www.franchising.com).
Ben and Jerry’s falls into the premium ice cream category and its main competitor is Haagen Dazs. These two companies are the top sellers for premium ice cream and offer an assortment of products. Each company has a line of low fat, low calorie ice creams to appeal to consumers concerned with their health; they both have sorbets as well. The companies have their own separate angle to try and sell to consumers; Haagen Dazs portrays themselves as sophisticated and refined, while Ben and Jerry’s is more exciting with quirky flavors and bright colors. Haagen Dazs has released its “Five” line of ice cream to maintain sales during the recent “organic craze”; these simple flavors contain only five ingredients.
An example of the rivavlry between Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs was when Haagen Dazs has recently reduced its pint sized ice cream containers from 16 fl oz. to 14 fl. oz. and their 32 fl. oz. containers to 28 fl. oz. (www.haagendazs.com). The reductions were “to offset increasing costs, [they] did not consider reducing the quality of [their] ingredients or the care [they] take in making your ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt.” Looking at its stock prices, Nestle’s had been slowly going down, so this change in pint size may have been a way for them to recover slightly. Ben and Jerry’s had a field day when they learned of this change. They released and ad campaign with the slogan, “A pint is not a pint unless it’s a pint.” Ben and Jerry’s is already known for being a consumer advocate, so this only boosted their reputation. 
Although Ben and Jerry’s versus Haagen Dazs is a big rivalry, these two companies are controlled by Nestle and the conglomerate Unilever. They are behind half the ice cream sales in the United States and control more the one third of the market globally. This is a growing business too, global ice cream sales are rising by “2.5% and will hit $65 billion in 2010,” (www.businessweek.com). Nestle and Unilever have grown a lot this past decade. General Mills owns Haagen Dazs, but Nestle obtained rights to sell the brand in the United States in 2001, and Nestle bought Dreyers in 2002. Unilever had its fair share as well when it bought Ben and
Jerry’s in 2000 and Breyers Ice Cream. “Today, Nestle boasts a 17.5% share of the world market, while Unilever is a close behind with 16%,” (www.businessweek.com). These companies are competing with each other, and it’s a neck-and-neck race according to their stock prices over the course of the year. Both companies have maintained their stock price compared to a year ago even when they both dipped around March and April of 2009
(Unilever Stock Price for the Past Year) (Nestle Stock Price for the Past Year).
