In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2017, National Ice Cream Day will be Sunday, July 16.
According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the ice cream industry in the United States contributes more than USD39.0bn to the national economy and creates more than 188,000 jobs in communities across the country. About 1.54 billion gallons of ice cream and related frozen desserts were produced in the U.S. in 2015, while the majority of U.S. ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers have been in business for more than 50 years and many are still family-owned businesses.
Vanilla on Top
Vanilla continues to be America’s flavor of choice in ice cream and novelties, in both supermarket and foodservice sales. This flavor is the most versatile, mixing well with toppings, drinks and bakery desserts, according to the IDFA. America’s top five favorite individual flavors are vanilla, chocolate, cookies ‘n cream, strawberry and mint chocolate chip.
“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. For example, Sweet Me Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Ice Cream, Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Cool Mint Sandwiches were named the most innovative ice cream products at the International Dairy Foods Association’s annual Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Competition in 2017. Unusual smoky and spicy flavors also made a splash in the competition along with creative takes on caffeinated drink favorites like coffee and tea,” says the IICA.
