“The weather was good this first summer month and the economy, too, we got good results. The first summer month brought a higher ice cream consumption compared with the year-ago period when it rained more,” Armenean says.
“The effects of the VAT cut and of the warmer weather are showing. Our production rose by 10% to 20%.”
Betty Ice posted 87.5 million lei (EUR19.5 million) sales last year and budgeted growth of 5% this year.
Armenean is optimistic and hopes to see ice cream consumption go up at a double-digit rate this year.
“This summer will definitely be better for ice cream consumption compared with last year. I think the growth will be above 10% compared with last year. The VAT cut is good, it stimulates consumption. Even before the enforcement of the VAT cut, there was optimism on the market in May.”
Ice cream consumption is among the lowest in Europe. A Romanian eats about 2 liters of ice cream per year, four times less than a Scandinavian.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)