Here at the Scoop, I try to focus as much as possible on the national brands. If you ask me, here is how I currently see the world of Ice Cream, at least from my perspective here in New England.
Top Tier Brands
Ben & Jerry's: I'm going to have to give the top spot to B&J. They make top notch ice cream in all kinds of wonderful flavors, plus they're tree huggers, so it's all good! (I tend to be a little hard on Ben & Jerry but it's only because I expect perfection in every pint)
Favorite flavor: Milk & Cookies
Owned by: Unilever
Haagen-Dazs: B&J's very worthy competitor. H-D flavors tend to be a bit more "classic"...sorry, best word I can think of, but these guys are neck in neck in my mind.
Favorite flavor: Rocky Road (or Caramel Cone)
Owned by: Nestle
Middle of the Road Brands
Breyers: I was raised on Breyers, so I may be a little biased on putting them on top, but hey, they make great products, many of them all natural.
Favorite flavor: hmmm, tough call
Owned by: Unilever
Turkey Hill: Turkey Hill continues their expansion westward as the #4 producer of ice cream. They make a lot of great quality flavors.
Favorite flavor: Gertrude Hawke's Box of Chocolates
Owned by: Kroger
Friendly's: Friendly's may serve terrible food, but they make good ice cream (and even better sundaes). I don't cover it a ton because of limited distribution (I'd be curious as to how many states they deliver too since I'm not sure they've made it off the east coast)
Owned by: Friendlys
Blue Bunny: Around here, Blue Bunny can only be found at Walmart, but I think things are different in other parts of the country. I don't eat their ice cream much, but I am a fan on their every growing line of novelties.
Favorite Flavor: Bunny Tracks
Owned by: Wells' Dairy Inc.
Kemps is a rather recent addition to the ice cream scene here in New England. I first spied it at Walmart but it has been slowly spreading to other stores (like Market Basket). According to them: "[Kemps is] the leading marketer of frozen desserts, milk and other dairy products in the Upper Midwest". I don't care for their tart frozen yogurts, but I've had some success with their sweet yogurts.
Favorite Flavor: Denali Froyo
Owned by: HP Hood LLC (since 2004)
Dreyer's (Edy's): Man, the #1 ice cream producer probably won't be amused that I put them on the bottom of my list. I'm not sure what happened to these guys, but the quest for unimpressive frozen dairy desserts has been a very chewy adventure. They are also responsible for making Healthy Choice ice cream.
Favorite Flavor: Caramel Cone Crunch
Owned by: Nestle
Entry level brands:
Stone Ridge Creamery: Owned by the conglomerate that runs a bunch of grocery stores. It's not super fantastic, but it's quite good, especially when considering the price point. (Stone Ridge is made at the same facilities as Kemps, but Kemps is not SR). Whatever store chain supervalu owns near you, that is where you will Stone Ridge products.
Favorite Flavor: Phillip's Truffle Shuffle
Owned by: Supervalu
Hood: Among it's collection of dairy products, Hood makes cheap ice cream...which is good if you're in college and can't afford anything better. They have operations throughout the country, own several other brands like Kemps, and have over 2 billion in sales annually. I don't cover them much because no one ever comes looking for them.
Owned by: HP Hood LLC
Flavor King: Found this at a Price Rite -- do not eat this stuff.
Low Fat Brands:
Skinny Cow
Owned by: Nestle
Weight Watchers
Made by Wells' Dairy Inc. since 2004
Healthy Choice
Owned by: ConAgra (but made by Edy's)
Local Brands:
Brighams: It's only served in New England. They were sold to Hood in the summer of 2008 and the plan then was to keep the status quo. They make good ice cream, but I don't cover it much since their market isn't that big (not that we don't love our ice cream in New England).
Owned by: HP Hood LLC
Non-Local Brands:
Pierres Ice Cream Company: Pierre's products are sold in 10 states. They also own Hola Fruta and Yovation. It's very possible you are eating Pierre's ice cream, but under a private label name.
Owned by: Pierres ICC
Blue Bell Creameries: While Blue Bell creameries is available in 17 states, I don't happen to live in one of them, which is a shame, I've heard it's excellent.
Owned by: Blue Bell Creameries
Perry's Ice Cream: Based out of New York, they should finally be arriving in my area in fall 2011.
Owned by: Family Owned - 4 generations
Non-Dairy Brands:
Tofutti :
Purely Decadent & So Delicious from Turtle Mountain
Brands I'm still trying to place:
Walmart also has their own brand of Great Value ice cream, though I've only tried it twice so far (the reviews don't get many hits)
Got a recommendation to add SheerBliss ice cream, but I don't believe I've seen them around here yet, nor do I know how big they are. I'll keep my eyes open.
Starbucks ice cream is basically limited to coffee based flavors (produced by Unilever).
Walgreens makes their own ice cream, but are they top-tier or middle-tier?
There is Green's and Hagan in the Pennsylvania area, but they are run by Kemps, which is run by HP Hood LLC.
Magnum is ice cream bars only and is owned by Unilever.
I'm not sure who manufactures ice cream for Mars.
hmmm, did I forget anyone? other places might carry "store" brands, but deep down these are probably rebadged ice creams. As time goes, I will place them were I can. Feel free to leave a comment.
12 comments:
What about Schwan's ice cream? They are national and super delicious!
No Schwan's around here in central mass ...actually I've never seen a Schwan's in my life, but that doesn't mean they don't repackage their products for some place local to me. I will look into it.
I live outside Worcester and Schwans stops at my house twice a week...where are you in Central Mass that you can't get Schwans? Maybe if you check out your web site, you can request a driver stop by. There's no charge.
Will you consider Purely Decadent brand made with coconut milk, which is available at Whole Foods or local natural food stores?
I try to be open to everything. I have seen it before, and I almost picked up a container one day. How much does it taste like coconut? My only fear is dumping 6-7 bucks on a container and then not liking it, so I try to wait for the rogue sale now and then.
I should start another section called specialty or probably non-dairy companies.
You should hunt down some Tillamook Ice Cream. Pretty popular out here on the west coast. GREAT ICE CREAM!!
since you like B&J's any comments on Peach Cobbler? As a kid, we were treated once a month at a local place called "Shaw's" on the SF peninsula, and they made a fresh peach in the summers. It was great. This B&J flavor matches in flavor and quality. Finally something just as good, as the good ole days! Were the '50's that long a go!
I have a feeling you don't think gelato is real ice cream, but what about Ciao Bella? Their flavors are clean and wonderful - their Espresso is one of the best coffee flavors I've ever had, and other flavors are very good. I'm in NYC - don't know if they're available where you are...Their sorbettos are also wonderful and fresh tasting.
Addendum to previous about Ciao Bella - if you like coconut, their coconut sorbetto is superb.
I second the Tillamook recommendation. That stuff is awesome!
Tillamook is great, as is Farr's. They are western brands that dominate Utah Grocery shelves.
Trader Joe's?
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