Kazakhstani ice cream is strengthening its market position in the domestic market relative to imports
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shin-Line, Kazakhstan
If in January-September 2022 the share of imported products accounted for 21.7% in volume terms, then a year later this share dropped to 18.8%.
The traditional leader in the list of suppliers to the Kazakh market is Russia, whose stable shipment volumes in January-September 2022 amounted to 5109 tons, a year later - in January-September 2023 - 5119 tons.
The ice cream of our northern neighbor is considered more premium among Kazakhstani consumers, and the two brands we created are blocking constant and aggressive attempts to expand Russian ice cream into the local market. Our Bahroma brand is responsible for the premium segment, and our Bear on the Pole brand is responsible for curbing the spread of the large ice cream ice cream segment. Even in the Russian Federation itself, “Bear on the Pole” is accepted as one of their own.
Kyrgyzstan increased the volume of imports by 28%, while Turkey, on the contrary, reduced it by 20.4%. In 2023, Kazakhstan became a start-up for some states that had not previously supplied supplies. So Lithuania, Iran, Uzbekistan, Hungary, and the UAE began supplying ice cream to Kazakhstan. The main newsmaker was Belarus, which, compared to the periods January-September 2022-2023, increased the volume of supplies by almost 9 times (from 54 to 476 tons).
In January-September 2022-2023, the capacity of the Kazakh ice cream market increased by 31.4% (from 38,960 to 51,193 tons). If in January-September 2022, in value terms, the share of imported products accounted for 34.9% of the Kazakh market, then a year later this share decreased significantly (to 19.7%).
According to the international research company Euromonitor, Shin-Line was able to increase its market share over the year, exceeding 49%. The company is currently No. 1 in ice cream production in Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries, producing more than 120 types of ice cream with a volume of 21 thousand tons per year.
Against the backdrop of the fact that the share of “foreigners” dwindled, and medium and small local producers were unable to quickly fill it, Shin-Line further strengthened its position. The trend towards a change in the ratio between local production and imports in favor of the former has been consolidated this year. Over the nine months of 2023, Shin-Line increased its sales by another 20%.
Ice cream from Shin-Line can be found not only in Kazakh refrigerators, but also in stores in Central Asia and Azerbaijan. Deliveries also go to China and Mongolia. Georgia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan have emerged among Shin-Line's new export markets.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, ice cream exports from the Republic of Kazakhstan increased by 7.8% in 2023, and this dynamics is almost entirely ensured by the market leader Shin-Line.
According to company experts, the most popular category among Kazakhstanis remains single-serve ice cream in a cup. But the take-home category showed the greatest growth over the year, that is, family-sized ice cream in large packages (braces or buckets of 0.5 and 1 kg). Retail sales in this category in value terms increased by 25% in 2023, according to Euromonitor. Perhaps, experts say, this is due to the economic benefits that large packaging formats bring.
