Consumer Trends

Ice Cream: The hot way to cool off this summer

An impressive 82% of Americans plan to enjoy ice cream this July as the industry celebrates National Ice Cream month. This figure came out of an independent survey commissioned by Baskin-Robbins, the world’s largest ice cream chain. Here’s what else was revealed about consumers’ ice cream eating habits:

  • 77% of survey respondents eat ice cream at least once a month, while 42% said they indulge at least once a week and 5% claimed a daily ice cream fix
  • Many ice cream fans don’t mind mixing pleasure with pain; more than 50% would suffer through a “brain freeze” to enjoy a scoop or two
  • Cone or cup? 70% of respondents prefer to eat ice cream in a cup rather than on a cone. Maybe it’s those sticky drips on hands?
  • More than 60% of Americans prefer hard scoop ice cream to soft serve
  • Classic flavors come out on top. Vanilla and chocolate are tied for first place, while the runners-up are Cookies n’ Cream and Mint Chocolate Chip. The winning ice cream topping is hot fudge
  • Kids and ice cream are a messy combination—25% of those surveyed claim that their children are covered in ice cream after enjoying a cone or cup. Operators should be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand!

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