Centra reports soaring ice-cream sales in pandemic

By Liz Wells in Industry News 12th May 2021

Centra is reporting a “significant increase” in demand for its exclusive Moo’d ice-cream brand, which has generated €1.6m (£1.4m) as of week 16 in 2021.

The retailer says sales for products in Centra’s ice-cream offering have rebounded significantly in 2021 – after Covid-19 lockdowns forced the closure of Moo’d counters for a number of weeks during 2020 – with sales now up 120% year-to-date in 2021.

Gerry Sheridan, owner of Ice Cream Treats, said: “While Covid had a huge impact on the Moo’d counters, Ice Cream Treats were able to continue operating as a business due to the demand for Moo’d take home tubs range.

“As our factory is small and we have limited staff on the production line, we were able to operate safely with social distancing. We used the time to develop new Moo’d flavours, creations and engage with our Centra retailers.”

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a 22% increase in total ice-cream sales in 2020, with demand for multipacks growing by 50%, and sales of premium ice-cream products also rising by 50%.

Moo’d is available in more than 200 SuperValu and Centra stores across Ireland.