Ice cream: Over the moo

It's no surprise that Australians love their share of good quality ice cream on a hot summer’s day.
From an all time favourite Street’s Cornetto to an Australian classic the Golden Gaytime. However,
according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017-2018), two thirds (67%) of Australians 18
and over were overweight or obese and as a result are becoming more healthconscious of what
they are consuming. IBISWORLD reports on ice cream manufacturing industry trends states that
“Rising consumer health consciousness is likely to increase demand for niche ice cream products
such as low sugar, lactose-free and vegan-friendly ice cream”. Due to this new trend, it has paved
the way for innovative companies such as Over the moo to manufacture ice creams that is relatively
healthy, does not compromise the flavour and dairy free for consumers that may not only be health
conscious but for those that are lactose-intolerant and vegan/vegetarian as well (Fitzsimmons,
2019.).

I consider the innovation useful as the offerings of a dairy-free ice cream provides variation within
an industry that lacks dietary diversity. Through the adaptation of Alex Houseman’s creative idea it
has attracted consumers that have specific needs, in this case, consumers that are lactose-intolerant
or have special dietary needs. Individuals who share similarities in their lifestyle can be categorised
in the psychographic segment of marketing (Garlin, F.Hayek, J.Mariyani-Squire, E. and Spanjaard, D.
2018, pp 4.2). He utilised the use of identifying opportunities, growing new markets, meeting social
needs, creativity and product innovation when starting up his now multi-million dollar business,
Over the Moo. He identified that being a lactose-intolerant, there was a lack of variety of dairy-free
products for him to enjoy and when there was they were positioned as being a healthy product.
Houseman recalls, “Many had no refined sugar and were functioning at a cottage industry scale, so
were very expensive. I started to think about repositioning the category and going for full flavour
and affordability.” This allowed his creative and innovative idea to grow in a market that lacked the
variety of options for lactose-intolerant consumers, vegans and plant based consumers. Housemann
was able to rethink the services that the ice cream industry served to not only suit his lifestyle but
to provide diversity within that market (Garlin, F.Hayek, J.Mariyani-Squire, E. and Spanjaard, D.
2018, pp 1.1). As a result, paved the way for bigger companies such as Peters and Bulla to introduce
lactose-free products in their range and meet the social needs of consumers(Fitzsimmons, 2019.)
The creative innovation of Over the Moo changed the way that ice cream as a product is offered to
consumers. Although the product is vegan based, Houseman’s idea is not to be seen as a health
product but to be an alternative option to the dairy ice creams. Their purpose is to “deliver the
same indulgent flavour as regular ice cream to those with special dietary needs,” (Huan, 2019). This
represents the idea of product innovation as it has changed the way that specific products/services
are offered to the public by an organisation (Garlin, F.Hayek, J.Mariyani-Squire, E. and Spanjaard, D.
2018, pp 1.5). Their ability to market their products and to obtain such a strong brand identity has
also contributed to their ability to attract consumers across different market segments. The
creation of Australia’s first dairy free van has kickstarted the brand’s ability to be memorable to its
consumers wherever they make ground. This is an example of Over the Moo using sales promotion
as a way to one-to-one market their products to the public. Sales promotion refers to the offers of
extra value to resellers, salespeople and consumers in a bid to increase sales (Garlin, F.Hayek,
J.Mariyani-Squire, E. and Spanjaard, D. 2018, pp 5.4).

Reference:

Website:

Caitlin Fitzsimmons. (20/01/2019). Healthy eating trend hits the ice cream business.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/healthy-eating-trend-hits-the-ice-cream-
business-20181229-p50ory.html

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (07/02/2019). Overweight and obesity.

https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-
18~Main%20Features~Overweight%20and%20obesity~90

IBISWORLD. (2019). Ice Cream Manufacturing industry trends (2014-2019) and Ice Cream
Manufacturing industry outlook (2019-2024).
https://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry-trends/market-research-reports/manufacturing/food-
product/ice-cream-manufacturing.html

Katie Langmore. (01/07/18). Dairy-free Over the Moo finds a niche in Australian ice cream market.
https://www.intheblack.com/articles/2018/07/01/over-the-moo-ice-cream-market

Raymond Huan. (15/10/2019). Small Business Success: Over the Moo.

https://excelbizsolutions.com.au/small-business-success-stories-over-the-moo/

Book:
Garlin, F.Hayek, J.Mariyani-Squire, E. and Spanjaard, D. [2018], Enterprise innovation and markets,
5th Edition, [Australia]