NEW YORK – Convenience retailers can finally organize their freezers with ice cream brands they know consumers trust.
Brand Keys, a New York-based research consultancy, has revealed its 2019 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, a list of brands in 90 categories that consumers dedicate their loyalty to. Among the categories is ice cream, which provides retailers the opportunity to bolster their frozen-treat offerings by offering the brands consumers trust the most.
“Trust has become the connective tissue between brands and loyalty,” said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys. “Expectations for trust are up across all product/service categories and brands an average of [more than] 250% year over year.”
Here are the five most trustworthy ice cream brands in 2019, according to Brand Keys …
The Turkey Hill Dairy Co. was the fifth most trustworthy ice cream brand, according to Brand Keys. The Conestoga, Pa.-based company offers ice cream in six formats: All Natural, Premium, Light, Stuff’d, Sugar-Free and Sherbet. Unique flavor offerings include Caramel Hot Chocolate, Party Cake, Graham Slam, Tin Roof Sundae and Rum Raisin.
Known for its Classic and Slow-Churned formats, Edy’s offers 75 ice cream flavors—more than any other brand mentioned on this list. Among these include traditional options such as Chocolate, Classic Vanilla and Butter Pecan, as well as unique flavors such as French Silk, Spumoni and Mississippi Mud Pie. Besides Classic and Slow-Churned, Edy’s also offers Triple Filled, Sugar-Free and Limited-Edition ice cream. Edy's is a subsidiary of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holding Co., based in Oakland, Calif.
Blue Bell keeps consumers on their toes with a rotation of limited-time flavors, many of which hit consumer demands for unique offerings. Right now, these include Raspberry Fudge Brownie, Tin Roof, Butter Crunch, French Vanilla, Cotton Candy and Krazy Kookie Dough. The Brenham, Texas-based company also offers 23 year-round flavors, such as Moo-llennium Crunch, Cookie Two-Step, The Great Divide Bride’s Cake and Banana Pudding. Other formats include single-serve, take-home cups, sugar-free and sherbet.
Minneapolis-based Haagen-Dazs has recently begun eliminating GMO ingredients from its ice cream and has set a goal to do so for all of its flavors. Current Non-GMO ice cream flavors in the company’s portfolio are Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Strawberry, Rum Raisin, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Pineapple Coconut, Coffee, Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter. Haagen-Dazs offers more than 60 flavors in total, ranging from classics such as Belgian Chocolate and Coffee to modern twists such as Green Tea and Toasted Coconut.
Ben & Jerry’s was named the most trustworthy ice cream brand in Brand Keys' rankings. In July 2018, the Burlington, Vt.-based company released its top 10 ice cream flavors based off total sales. From 10 to one, they were Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch, New York Super Fudge Chunk, Strawberry Cheesecake, Americone Dream, Phish Food, The Tonight Dough, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia and Half Baked.
The following month, Matthew McCarthy, the company’s CEO, pledged to place activism at the forefront of Ben & Jerry’s and “double its social impact” during his tenure.
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