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Survey names Ben & Jerry's as America's favorite ice cream chain

September 28, 2012

A new survey from Market Force Information shows that Ben & Jerry's is America's favorite ice cream chain. The study surveyed more than 7,600 U.S. consumers in August and was calculated based on the total number of votes, with number of locations also factored in.

On a 1.8 percent scale, Ben & Jerry's was listed as No. 1 with 1.7 percent. Cold Stone Creamery followed at 1.31.

At third was Culver's, with 1.08 percent, followed by Haagen-Dazs, 0.85 percent, Baskin-Robbins, 0.82 percent, Dairy Queen, 0.7 percent, and Carvel, 0.55 percent.

Votes by region

Market Force also analyzed the results geographically to see which ice cream chains are most popular in four regions of the country – the Northeast, Midwest, South and West.

Massachusetts-based Baskin-Robbins came out on top in the Northeast, Ben & Jerry's in the Midwest, and Wisconsin-based Culver's received the most votes in the South and West regions, but ranked fourth in the Midwest. Ben & Jerry's was second favorite in the Northeast, South and West, and consumers nationwide agreed that Cold Stone Creamery was third across the board.

Culver's tops for key attributes

The Market Force survey also asked consumers to rank ice cream chains based on various attributes such as food quality/taste, customer service, cleanliness, atmosphere and overall value. Culver's was the leader across all categories. Cream Stone Creamery and Ben & Jerry's were second and third for taste, while Carvel had a strong showing in the service and value categories.

Out of the seven chains considered, Dairy Queen ranked lowest for food quality, taste and cleanliness, and Haagen-Dazs came in last place for service and value.

"Despite the recession, the ice cream market has remained hot and we're seeing smaller chains like Culver's aggressively grow their fan following by focusing on the customer experience," said Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force. "Still, with its progressive brand image, as well as a variety of funky flavors with creative names, Ben & Jerry's remains the crowd favorite."

Read more about trends and statistics.