Superpremium

Ben & Jerry's is getting fat on America's growing appetite for so-called superpremium ice cream, brands made with natural ingredients and plenty of butterfat. Häagen-Dazs, the ice cream that has the pseudo-Scandinavian name but is made in America by Pillsbury, pioneered the superpremium field and spawned such imitators as Prusen Gladje from Dart & Kraft and Alpen Zauber, which is produced by a small Brooklyn company. Americans last year gobbled an estimated 66 million gal. of superpremium ice cream, up about 12% from 1983.

Together with other superpremium drinks, such as vintage port, Armagnac, Cognac, and bourbon, single-malt Scotch is being rediscovered by the same affluent white-collar professionals who rejected it a decade ago.

Clearly, the iPhone will have a major impact on the superpremium segment; Motorola’s Q, for example, will be outclassed.