Clash by night over sorbets and yogurt: most Israelis don't know what they are!

In Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," it was ignorant armies that clashed by night. But in Israel last year, rival producers of frozen sorbets and yogurts have had to contend, not just with each other but with a public ignorant of frozen confectionery products beyond ice cream and novelties.

A survey conducted among 500 Israeli adults before Haagen-Dazs launched its sorbets and yogurts last summer revealed that 78% didn't know what a sorbet was, and that 69% didn't have a clue about frozen yogurt. Ben & Jerry's also introduced sorbets last year, while Tene Noga debuted mango-flavored yogurt bars.

Low-fat/diet products account for only 16% of the Israeli frozen dessert market, according to Haagen-Dazs - and just five percent according to domestic rival Strauss (Maybe consumers aren't the only ignorant ones.). Strauss Dairies introduced frozen yogurt several years ago during a brief fad, which may explain why that's slightly more familiar than sorbets.

A 20% interest in Strauss, incidentally, has been acquired by French food conglomerate Danone (parent of Dannon Yogurt in the USA), with "excess" Strauss capacity earmarked for Danone products (Thus far unspecified). Swiss conglomerate Nestle, in partnership with the Israeli Osem Group, is trying to acquire a 51% share of Tnuva, which markets the Tene Noga and Snowcrest brands.

Omni Brand Foods, which is the Israeli franchisee for Haagen-Dazs, figured it was the right time to roll out fat-free sorbets and yogurts because the brand has captured 10% of the ice cream market and 40% of the premium ice cream market after only a year. Haagen-Dazs offers sorbets in lemon, mango and blackberry flavors; yogurts in vanilla-blackberry and vanilla-fudge.

Also jumping into the market is TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt), which operates frozen yogurt shops in the USA and is looking for new worlds to conquer. Its point men in Israel are Michael Hirsch, Yoram Eyal and Gideon Willis, who have been licensed to import and market TCBY products and have invested $1.5 million for the first three shops in Ramat Hasharon, Dizengoff Center and a "major gas station." A $3 million distribution center and 25 more retail outlets are planned.

Although Ben & Jerry's offers frozen yogurt back in the United States, it is holding off on introducing them to Israel. Frozen yogurts aren't popular there, and David Zinger of Ben & Jerry's (Israel) thinks he knows why: they've been tarnished with the image of a passing fad. The company is sticking to sorbets, which it introduced last July, leaving yogurt to Strauss, Haagen-Dazs, TCBY, Tene Noga and Mars (which is importing Opal Fruits sorbet pops).