Exploring America’s Ice Cream Preferences
Vanilla may be the most popular ice cream flavor in America; however, there is a growing trend of consumers branching out to flavors like Moose Tracks, Rocky Road, green tea, coffee, and birthday cake. According to a 2021 study from Instacart, these flavors have been emerging as favorites among ice cream enthusiasts.
The study, released in July 2021, revealed that vanilla accounted for more than 26% of all ice cream sales in the United States, solidifying its status as a classic choice. Moreover, several other flavors are gaining popularity and capturing the taste buds of American consumers.
According to Laurentia Romaniuk, Instacart’s trends expert, “Americans’ love for ice cream runs deep, and with thousands of different options available for purchase, we thought it would be fascinating to dig into the data to uncover the most uniquely popular flavors in each state. It turns out that people across the country have a hankering for vanilla, peanut butter cups, and fudge since ‘Moose Tracks’ is the top unique flavor in 12 states.”
Overview of Ice Cream Preferences
In general, Americans tend to prefer chocolate-based ice cream. Remarkably, 24 states selected a chocolate-flavored option as their favorite. However, not every state followed this trend. For example, buyers in Hawaii showed a preference for tropical flavors, especially mango ice cream, while those in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut opted for pistachio.
Favorite Flavors by State
Here is a list of the most popular ice cream flavors in each state, including Washington D.C.:
- Alabama: Moose Tracks
- Alaska: Green Tea
- Arizona: Rocky Road
- Arkansas: Rainbow Sherbet
- California: Rocky Road
- Colorado: Green Tea
- Connecticut: Pistachio
- Delaware: Cherry
- Florida: Rum Raisin
- Georgia: Rum Raisin
- Hawaii: Mango
- Idaho: Green Tea
- Illinois: Moose Tracks
- Indiana: Moose Tracks
- Iowa: Moose Tracks
- Kansas: Rainbow Sherbet
- Kentucky: Chocolate Chip
- Louisiana: Birthday Cake
- Maine: Coffee
- Maryland: Cookie Dough
- Massachusetts: Coffee
- Michigan: Moose Tracks
- Minnesota: Moose Tracks
- Mississippi: Birthday Cake
- Missouri: Cookie Dough
- Montana: Rainbow Sherbet
- Nebraska: Moose Tracks
- Nevada: Rocky Road
- New Hampshire: Coffee
- New Jersey: Pistachio
- New Mexico: Chocolate Chocolate Chip
- New York: Pistachio
- North Carolina: Birthday Cake
- North Dakota: Moose Tracks
- Ohio: Chocolate Chip
- Oklahoma: Cookie Dough
- Oregon: Green Tea
- Pennsylvania: Mint Chip
- Rhode Island: Coffee
- South Carolina: Moose Tracks
- South Dakota: Birthday Cake
- Tennessee: Moose Tracks
- Texas: Rainbow Sherbet
- Utah: Rocky Road
- Vermont: Coffee
- Virginia: Birthday Cake
- Washington: Green Tea
- Washington, D.C.: Mango
- West Virginia: Moose Tracks
- Wisconsin: Moose Tracks
- Wyoming: Rocky Road
Unique State Flavors
While many ice creams appeared multiple times as a state’s top flavor, certain states such as Delaware (which chose cherry), Pennsylvania (mint chip), and New Mexico (chocolate chocolate chip) stood out with their unique selections.
To gauge each state’s favorite flavor, Instacart analyzed ice cream sales data and compared it to the national average, highlighting the diversity of preferences across the nation.
