The coolest picks of summer: What frozen treats consumers crave

The 4th of July is behind us so we all know what that means: It’s officially summer in the US! Now we have just one thing on our minds, and that’s staying cool with some of our favorite classic frozen treats. 

Which frozen treats are consumers reaching for this summer? And how do some of our favorite childhood treats hold up today? Let’s find out! 

1. The overall sensory experience is an important element of frozen treats: No one is treating themselves to a dessert they don’t like — so taste is key! But texture also stands out as an important element of the purchase decision in this category. Respondents often noted enjoying the combination of textures, particularly soft, creamy ice cream paired with something with a crunch.  

2. Indulgent, adult-friendly options come out on top: While in this analysis we looked at classic summer treats we all remember from our childhoods, we asked respondents what they would be most likely to purchase today. And with that context, chocolate comes out on top — particularly the options that are seen as great tasting and indulgent like Snickers ice cream bars and Magnum. While many of these are loved for their nostalgia, the more indulgent adult-friendly options win the day.

For our analysis, we looked at 14 classic frozen treats — many that should be familiar to you if you grew up in the US. 

1. The Original Brand Popsicle - Firecrackers

2. Good Humor - Creamsicle

3. Nestle - Drumstick Vanilla Ice Cream Cone

4. Good Humor - Strawberry Shortcake Bars

5. Magnum - Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars

6. Blue Ribbon - Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich

7. Fla-Vor-Ice - Freezer Bars, Assorted Flavors

8. The Original Brand Popsicle - 2 Ball Screwball Cherry

9. Chipwich - Vanilla Chocolate Chip

10. Fudgsicle - Original Fudge Pops

11. SNICKERS - Ice Cream Bars

12. Luigi's - Lemon Real Italian Ice

13. Klondike - Original Vanilla Ice Cream Bars

14. Nestle - Push Up Cherry, Orange & Grape

In our ScreenIt solution we asked respondents to rank the frozen treats according to which they would be most likely to purchase.

SNICKERS Ice Cream Bars emerged as the top-ranked frozen treat, securing the highest number of first-choice rankings (36%). Magnum Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars received the second-highest first-choice rankings (34%), while Klondike Original Vanilla Ice Cream Bars and Nestle Drumstick Vanilla Ice Cream Cone tied for third with 29%. 

A few of our favorite classic childhood favorites landed on the bottom, including Fla-Vor-Ice Freezer Bars, 2 Ball Screwball and Firecracker Popsicles. But of course, we asked a group of adults what they would be most likely to purchase today so we could get a sense of what consumers are looking for right now, so it makes sense that adults aren’t all reaching for the same frozen treats they enjoyed as children. 

Digging a little deeper, let’s take a look at the attributes most associated with the brands. These are the products that scored highest across key category attributes:

• Most “great tasting”: Snickers (68%)

  • Runner-up: Nestle Drumstick (61%)

• Most “refreshing”: Luigi’s Real Italian Ice (57%)

  • Runner-up: Fla-Vor-Ice (46%)

• Most “trusted brand”: Snickers (52%)

  • Runner-up: Nestle Drumstick (48%)

• Most “indulgent”: Magnum Milk Chocolate Bars (50%)

  • Runner-up: Snickers (45%)

• Most “high-quality ingredients”: Magnum Milk Chocolate Bars (48%)

  • Runner-up: Snickers (33%)

• Most “fun”: 2Ball Screwball (47%)

  • Runner-up: Chipwich (46%)

• Most “for all ages”: Blue Ribbon Ice Cream Sandwiches (48%)

  • Runner-up: Nestle Drumstick & Good Humor Creamsicle (46%)

• Most “nostalgic”: Original Popsicle Brand Firecrackers (43%)

  • Runner-up: Good Humor Creamsicle (42%)

• Most “unique”: 2Ball Screwball (43%)

  • Runner-up: Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Bars (39%)

Snickers emerged as a favorite across multiple attributes, coming in on top for “great tasting” and second place for “indulgent” and “high-quality ingredients.”

Firecracker popsicles — a classic childhood staple for the summertime in the US — won for “nostalgic,” followed by Good Humor Creamsicle. 

Ice-based treats Luigi’s Real Italian Ice and Fla-Vor-Ice took first and second for “refreshing,” while Blue Ribbon’s Ice Cream Sandwiches won for “for all ages.” 

And Magnum’s efforts associating its brand with indulgence has clearly paid off, as it won first place for “indulgent” and “high-quality ingredients.”

Next we scored each product a number out of five for each of these metrics, based on our survey feedback: 

• Advantage: How much better each of the products is to other products already available 

• Distinctiveness: How different each of the products are from other products already available

• Relevance: How relevant each of the products is to the respondents

• Believability: How believable the claims of each product are to the respondents

We compared each of these numbers against the average score for the group of 14 frozen treats.

Snickers outperforms the average across all four metrics — the only frozen treat to do so. Magnum, Klondike and Nestle Drumstick all outperform the average across most metrics, but are on par with the average for distinctiveness.

Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake, Chipwich and 2 Ball Screwball all overperform the average on distinctiveness. 

Overall nostalgia, taste and texture and the family-friendly nature of the options are the main drivers behind purchasing the products we analyzed.

Nostalgia

We specifically picked these frozen desserts because they’re classic childhood summer treats, so it’s not particularly surprising that nostalgia emerged as a common theme among respondents. 

People mentioned that these were things they used to enjoy as a kid and they have fond memories of the experiences. 

Respondents said things like: 

• "The push-up style for this frozen treat is very nostalgic to me, and seems fun. I also like how the packaging claims there aren't any artificial flavors or colors."

• "I grew up on creamsicles, we always had them in our freezer. I love the combination of vanilla and orange sherbert."

• "For me, nostalgia is a big factor with these. But I also really enjoy the flavors as well as the texture of them."

• "These were a favorite childhood treat for me. I love the peanuts, crunchy cone, and the chocolate in the bottom."

Family friendly

Treats that respondents felt could appeal to the whole family were a key reason to purchase as well. People remember the treats from their own childhood and enjoy eating them with their kids during the summer. 

Respondents said things like: 

• "It looks delicious. Adults and children would both like this. One of my favorites. I see it and I smile."

• "I love the flavor and it really hits a lot during a chocolate craving. Plus my kids enjoy them as well."

• "My whole family likes them and they are good for summertime."

• "This is a classic that my whole family loves."

• "I buy these for my family fairly regularly."

Taste & texture

Taste is, of course, extremely important for any kind of treat. Who wants to treat themselves to something they don’t like? So the importance of taste alone is not surprising. 

But the inclusion of texture also emerged in many of the responses. The combination of soft ice cream with crunchy peanuts or the crumbles on the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Bar. The texture of Magnum’s chocolate coating. The flavor of the italian ice. These things stand out to people as memorable and exciting. 

Respondents said things like: 

• "I love the flavor and the texture of the crumbles and it tastes so good — one of my favorites."

• "The texture of the ice cream is much smoother and creamy by far the best tasting ice cream."

• "One of my favorites from my childhood. I love the taste and texture."

• "Just love water ice. Has the best flavor and texture."

• "Magnum ice cream is so yummy. The ice cream is perfect and the chocolate coating is so creamy."

• "The texture of the ice cream is much smoother and creamy by far the best tasting ice cream."

How did your favorite frozen treat do in this analysis? Which ones will you be treating yourself to this summer? 

Let us know by interacting with our coverage on LinkedIn.

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