BACKGROUND

Student ice cream preference

 

Benji Huynh

Tyler Drellishak

Keywords used: do people like vanilla or chocolate ice cream

favorite ice cream flavors

ice cream flavors 2014

ice cream flavors 2015

is there a gender preference for ice cream

ice cream preference among age groups

           

The entirety of the search for background data on the topic of "Ice Cream flavor preferences," was done using the <https://www.google.com/> search engine. I visited several sites including each of the following:

<http://www.aol.com/food/vanilla-beats-chocolate-americas-favorite-ice-cream-flavor/>

<http://www.statista.com/statistics/268348/us-citizens-favorite-ice-cream-flavors/>

<http://www.marketresearchworld.net/content/view/4242/77/>

<http://www.activebeat.com/diet-nutrition/15-most-popular-ice-cream-flavors-the-winner-may-surprise-you/>

<http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2009/07/is-there-a-gender-preference-for-ice-cream/>

            The Aol.com article noted that in 2013 vanilla appeared to be the most popular ice cream flavor in the US based on data found from the International Dairy Foods Association. It also explained that chocolate had placed second with Butter pecan surprisingly coming in third place and Rocky Road tied with Neapolitan for fourth. The survey added that Americans preferred premium ice cream as opposed to regular, which has a higher fat content. However there was also a noticeable increase in the market for frozen yogurt and non-sugar dairy products, generally considered healthier options. Unsurprisingly, given the results of the favorite ice cream flavor, pecan clocked in as the number one nut topping for ice cream while cherry was the fruit topping of choice. The most popular toppings were hot fudge, nuts, and sprinkles.

            Though that appeared to be the case in 2013, a survey conducted the following year recorded a very, very different result. According to Statista.com, Chocolate was the most popular flavor of 2014 with Cookies and cream coming out of nowhere and placing number two over Vanilla at three. Then Cookie dough and Mint chocolate chip tied for fourth with 11% of the public preferring each flavor. The most notable change in this survey was the fact that cookies and cream jumped so high over the course of a year.

            Another article, based on the findings of Harris Poll # 90, found yet different results. According to marketresearchworld.net, roughly 28% of Americans prefer chocolate, 26% prefer vanilla, and “cookies and cream” and “cookie dough” combine to account for 22% of American ice cream preferences. Other notable flavors were butter pecan, mint chocolate chip, strawberry, and rocky road. The article also reveals that certain geographical regions are more likely to respond certain ways; for example, Midwesterners and Easterners say chocolate, while Southerners prefer vanilla (because obviously the Vanilla is superior). Even stranger, certain flavors are favored by particular political affiliation. According to this rather in depth survey, eating ice cream from a cup was the most common method for having this dessert with cones, sundaes and sandwiches following. Gender appeared to be a somewhat determining factor in how one enjoyed their ice cream since women were more likely to prefer cones and men were more likely to prefer cups and sundaes. This survey also noted that over 50% of americans would rather have hot fudge on their ice cream than any other topping or plain ice cream itself. The other popular choices were nuts, caramel, fruit, and sprinkles.

             On blog.chron.com, Eric Berger wrote about the results of a study performed by Progressive Grocer. According to the study, the vast majority of men prefer basic, simple flavors of ice cream such as chocolate or vanilla, while nearly three-fourths of women prefer flavors with more variety, like those that include fruit or “candy bits.” However, women also tend to prefer these varied flavors more often when they include chocolate of some kind.

            More than anything else, these articles don’t really reveal a hard and fast preference for any particular flavor of ice cream; if anything, they instead show that there are an abundance of enjoyed ice cream flavors. They also show how difficult it is to create a survey that accurately takes the pulse of a population on their favorite ice creams. Quite a few articles have been written on what type of ice cream people like, though there isn’t too much where gender is looked at as an independent variable. Therefore, this study will likely not be able to compare its results to other surveys.