PACKAGED ICE CREAM 



By K. E. Wright, Assistant Research Professor of Dairy Industry 



The Status of the Two Types of Packages 



The popularity of the store-filled package is shown in a recent survey 

 (6) in Boston on the subject of consumer preference for packaged ice 

 cream. The results show very strikingly that the overwhelming (three to 

 one) majority of people interviewed expressed a preference for the hand- 

 or store-filled package of ice cream. Of the people stating this preference, 

 the majority gave as the reason that the bulk ice cream was better in 

 quality — tasted better or seemed to have richer flavor or was fresher. Of 

 those who did prefer the plant-filled package, more than half stated that 

 the ease of serving and handling was the reason for their preference. Only 

 a third of this class mentioned sanitary condition as a reason for their 

 clioice. 



On the other hand, another survey in a diiferent part of the country 

 showed that a slight majority preferred plant-packaged ice cream because 

 it was more sanitary, while the minority chose store-filled packages because 

 ot the greater weight received. The fact is significant that one manufac- 

 turer who raised his package sales to 50 per cent of his total output 

 experienced a serious drop in sales because the public found that they 

 were not getting as much for their money in the factory-filled product. 

 It is therefore quite evident that it is the difference in quantity and 

 quality and not merely custom that is the cause for the slow adoption of 

 plant-packaged ice cream. 



Because of the fact that the dealer has to stand the loss of shrinkage, 

 it is quite reasonable to expect that tlie method of dipping would be 

 most unsatisfactory to him. As a residt, considerable study has been 

 carried on in an effort to decrease the dipping losses incurred in filling 

 packages by hand. In general the results of such investigations have 

 shown that, because of the human element involved, dipping can never 

 be satisfactory as a means of accurate merchandizing unless the practice 

 of weighing is established. 



In getting at the faults of factory-packaged ice cream, the amount of 

 the difference in weight of the two types of packages was determined in 

 a survey by Judkins (2), who found the average weight of the dipped 

 pint to be 14.2 ounces and the net average weight of the factory-filled 

 pint to be less than 10 ounces, or a difference of over t ounces. This 

 difference still exists, as shown by the Boston survey (6). The difference 

 in quantity is, then, quite obviously at least one very good reason for 

 preferring the dipped to the factory-filled package. The light weight of 

 the factory-filled pint is particularly noticeable when four persons are to 

 be served, as has been the custom from a pint of the store-filled ice cream. 

 Thus because a party of four is a customary number as well as a more 

 typical number than three, it is apparent that it would he advisable to 

 consider this demand. 



