Flavors
According to IDFA’s 2024 Ice Cream & Frozen Novelty Trends Survey, Vanilla is America’s flavor of choice in ice cream, followed by Chocolate and Strawberry.
America’s top 10 favorite ice cream flavors:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Strawberry
- Butter Pecan
- Cookie Dough
- Cookies and Cream
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Chip
- Rocky Road
- Peanut Butter/PB Cup
However, ice cream flavors are only limited by the imagination. Manufacturers, scoop shops and chefs constantly come up with new and exciting flavors for their customers.
Here are a few:
- Chile Lime Mango
- Nutella Cookie Crunch
- Coffee Caramel Crunch
- Lemon Poppy Seed
- Earl Grey Raspberry Stracciatella
- Exhausted Parent
- Saffron
New Product Trends
Respondents in IDFA’s 2022 survey of ice cream makers and retailers identified six top trends guiding their product development efforts:
- Nostalgic and comforting
- Gourmet and indulgent
- Demand for plant-based and/or non-dairy ingredients
- Clean labeling
- Convenience or on-the-go
- Natural products
- Health and wellness products
Consumers still look for an indulgence when eating ice cream. Therefore, ice cream manufacturers make sure to offer a full selection of premium and super-premium products in innovative flavors and with such mix-ins as cookies, brownies, candies and cake.
Innovation and Technology
The winning ice cream products in IDFA’s annual Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Competition in 2025 were Lavender Lemon Butter Cookie by Kent Precision Foods Group, Brownie Batter Cookie Dough by Hudsonville Ice Cream, and Dubai Bar Bliss by IRCA Group. But don’t go looking for Dubai Bar Bliss just yet. It’s a prototype, and we hope it hits shelves soon.