> > Ample Hills hit the Northeast (Roche Bros) in 2021
Tea-rrific: Tea infused ice cream out of Connecticut, did they shut down in 2023?
High Road: Out of Georgia (est 2010), they also run Helados La Neta
Dolcezza Gelato - based in DC, somewhat hard to find in my area but tasty (est 2004)
Van Leeuwen - French ice cream and non-dairy options out of Brooklyn (est 2008)
Premium Brands ($$$)
Ben & Jerry's: I'm going to have to give the top spot to B&J. They make top notch ice cream in all kinds of wonderful flavors, plus they're tree huggers, so it's all good! (I tend to be a little hard on Ben & Jerry but it's only because I expect perfection in every pint)
Owned by: Unilever (since 2001)
U.S. Sales: 2019 #1, 2022 #1
Haagen-Dazs: B&J's very worthy competitor. H-D flavors tend to be a bit more "classic"...sorry, best word I can think of, but these guys are neck in neck in my mind.
Owned by: Froneri (announced Dec 2019)
U.S. Sales: 2019 #2, 2022 #2
Talenti Gelato: Started in 2003 as a gelato stand, Talenti has grown to be the #1 gelato maker in the US and the #3 premium brand in the country. Oh, I compiled
a list of all their flavors here.
Owned by: Unilever (announced 2014)
U.S. Sales: 2019 #6, 2022 #8
Graeter's: the "french pot process" has earned this company well deserved respect and loyalty by many.
Owned by: Graeter's (since 1868)
Mainstream / Middle of the Road Brands ($$)
Breyers: I was raised on Breyers, but they have fallen out of my favor as most of their flavors are now "frozen dairy desserts".
Owned by: Unilever since Fall 1993, founded in 1866
U.S. Sales: 2019 #4, 2022 #4
Turkey Hill: Turkey Hill continues their expansion westward as the #4 producer of ice cream. They made a lot of great quality flavors but have switched many flavors to frozen dairy dessert.
ice cream started in 1954, owned by Kroger from Aug 1985 to 4/29/19
Owned by: Peak Rock Capital
U.S. Sales: 2019 #5, 2022 #6
Friendly's: Friendly's use to make some pretty great ice cream but have resorted to frozen dairy dessert like the other mainstream brands. They are all over the east coast.
Owned by: bought by Dean Foods (5/9/16) >> sold to DFA in 2020
Blue Bunny: They had a ton of fun flavors and novelties but they too slid in to the world of frozen dairy dessert. Novelties are easier to find then pints in my area.
Owned by: Ferrero acquired Wells' Enterprises in late 2022, founded in 1913
U.S. Sales: 2019 #9, 2022 #9
Kemps Surprisingly, Kemps still makes actual ice cream. They are big in the midwest, but unfortunately there are very few of their products in my area.
Bought by HP Hood LLC in 2004 >> sold to DFA in 2011
Dreyer's (Edy's): I was a pretty big fan of Edy's in college, but they fell out of favor when they ditched awesome flavors for terrible frozen dairy desserts. They've gotten fairly quiet in recent years as Nestle moves towards co-branded ice creams.
Owned by: Froneri (announced Dec 2019)
U.S. Sales: 2019 #7, 2022 #5
Dean's: Dean's was the number three ice cream manufacturer in the US after purchasing Friendlys. They sold ice cream under Dean's Country Fresh as well as Mayfield, PET, Meadow Gold, etc. Unfortunately they went bankrupt and sold the dairy business to Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) in 2020. You can still find Dean's Country Fresh ice cream, but now Dean's is in little letters and country fresh is in big letters (aka the opposite of what it used to be).
Hudsonville has undergone several phases of expansion and has now brought their ice cream (not frozen dairy dessert) to the Northeast! They are responsible for the Little Debbie ice creams.
Tillamook: Now in the Northeast, Started in Oregon. Took awhile for their ice cream to grow on me but I am now a fan. They tend to be light on mix-ins but have several good flavors.
Owned by: Farmers (the people, not the insurance)
U.S. Sales: 2022 #7
Gifford's: Gifford's (of Maine) bought Gifford's (of Maryland) in 2010 to expand their distribution along the east coast. They make some fun quarts but only recently (2021) started expanding in to more New England stores.
Owned by: Gifford's
Pierres Ice Cream Company: Pierre's products are sold in
10 states. They used to produce Yovation and the excellent Hola Fruta. It's very possible you are eating Pierre's ice cream, but under a private label name.
Owned by: Ohio Processors (2022)
Perry's Ice Cream: Is out of upstate New York. They have been nice enough to send over samples several times, most people find their stuff at
Wegman's. Their ice cream is a lot less dense than when I started the blog.
Owned by: Family Owned - 4 generations
Blue Bell Creameries: While Blue Bell creameries was the #4 brand in the country, though it's only available in 17 states. I don't happen to live in one of them, so we have CT from
Nerd Lunch try them for us every now and then.
Owned by: Blue Bell Creameries
U.S. Sales: 2019 #3, 2022 #3
Mayfield Creamery: Expanded it Southern US reach by four more states in 2017. Also went back to its full name of "Mayfield Creamery" and not just Mayfield.
Owned by: Dean Foods >> DFA (2020)
Budget / Entry level brands ($)
Stone Ridge Creamery: Owned by the conglomerate that runs a bunch of grocery stores. They tend to be light on the mix-ins, but overall it's quite good 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.
Owned by:
Supervalu
Hood: Among it's collection of dairy products, Hood makes entry level 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, and have over 2 billion in sales annually. I didnt cover them much at first, but their New England Creamery line up has some fun stuff.
Owned by: HP Hood LLC
Target: Throwing Target here because their stuff tends to pack a good amount of flavor at a discount price though the branding seems to roll over every few years..
Flavor King: Found this at a Price Rite -- do not eat this stuff.
"Healthy" Brands:
Skinny Cowreduced to a few products
Owned by: Froneri (announced Dec 2019)
Weight Watchersreduced to a few bars
Made by Wells' Dairy Inc. since 2004
Halo Top - young California company making all natural, high protein, low sugar, low fat ice cream with the help of erythritol. I never eat it.
Owned by: Wells' Enterprises (now Ferrero) since Sept 2019
U.S. Sales: 2019 #8, 2022 #10
Arctic Zero - lactose free, often low/no fat, and low glycemic thanks to monk fruit extract >> moved to a non-dairy lineup.
Enlightened - started as
bars but has moved in to pints and other products. low sugar because of erythritol. Still kickin!
Yasso - started off with frozen greek yogurt bars, usually fat free and high in fiber, and have expanded their lineup since then.
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 used to make good ice cream, but quality has fallen and they rarely pop out something new and catchy.
Owned by: HP Hood LLC
Batch Ice Cream: Boston Area ice cream started in 2009, sold to new owners in 2018 who hope to expand to nationwide distribution.
Non-Dairy Only Brands: all the rage starting in 2020
Tofutti is made from Soy (Tofu)
So Delicious has coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk and soy milk products
FoMu and NadaMoo! are both coconut milk based.
Cado is avocado based frozen dessert.
There are now several
oat based lines as well
Other Brands & Retired Brands:
Walmart also has their own brands of ice cream but we don't try it often
Starbucks ice cream was a limited selection, often coffee based (produced by Unilever).
Walgreens made their own ice cream, making both standard and premium ice creams.
There is
Green's and
Hagan in the Pennsylvania area, but they are run by Kemps, which is run by HP Hood LLC.
There is Carolina based Mooresville ice cream which put out pints of
Front Porch ice cream.
Magnum makes ice cream bars but was in the U.S. "tub" game from 2018 to 2023. They are owned by Unilever.
Mars is responsible for any Mars or Dove ice cream (Dove pints are rare nowadays)
Milk Bar - Started as a bakery in 2008. Ice cream was in stores 2021 to 2023.
Rice Dream & Almond Dream - out of the frozen game
Cool haus: originally known for their ice cream sandwiches, they got out of the pint game
Gelato Fiasco: Out of Maine, top notch stuff, no longer on shelvesSteve's Ice Cream: Bought by Dean Foods in June 2017, might be gone
Vice Cream: young company out of the Boston area, competing with B&J and H-D. They have gone silent in 2019 but are supposedly coming back.... (2022: probably not happening)Owned by: Vice Cream Yuengling's returned in 2014 after a 29 year hiatus but have been offline for a few years. They spun off in 2019 (announced 2019). You can read the latest 2021 announcement here. In 2022, they bought Revolution Desserts which owns or licenses Gelato Fiasco, Sweet Scoops, Art Cream and Soco Creamery. In Late 2023, it seems like they will be divesting their ice cream assets.Healthy Choice - ice cream is gone --- Owned by: ConAgra (but made by Edy's)
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 where I can. Feel free to leave a comment.