This tempting treat can be served in a cone, tube, sandwich, stick, or waffle cup. Its delicate texture resembles chilled cream. The variety of flavors pleases both children and adults, including creamy, vanilla, fruit, chocolate, almond, and pistachio. Of course, it is ice cream!
Ice cream makers invest heavily in marketing, so even the packaging design stirs a frenzied appetite. However, sometimes the colorful wrapper doesn’t accurately reflect the contents, especially for lesser-known brands that still exist today. Competition in the confectionery market is constantly growing, with new brands emerging year after year, and their advertising is becoming increasingly intrusive.
Determining the best ice cream is difficult because everyone has different taste preferences. However, certain criteria, such as a product’s naturalness or sales volume, still matter. Let’s explore this controversial topic and find the treat that won’t disappoint even the most demanding gourmets. The 14 best ice cream brands. This is when expectations and reality coincide.
Amul
Anand Milk Union Limited, commonly known as Amul, is among India’s most influential dairy manufacturers. Initially, this cooperative collected and processed buffalo milk. Later, its factories produced dairy-based confectionery products.
Amul ice cream is sold in cakes, sandwiches, and chocolate bars, but classic versions are also available in cones and waffle cups. Lactose-free and sugar-free treats are available for those on a diet.
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins U.S. stores offer a variety of ice cream flavors, plus toppings like fruit, cookie pieces, and nuts. The brand’s original concept was “31 flavors,” intended to create 31 types of ice cream, one for each day of the month. However, it soon became clear that this number wasn’t enough to satisfy consumers’ appetites, so the range expanded.
The remaining “31 flavors” are only in the original Baskin-Robbins logo. The flavor count has long exceeded established limits, reaching several hundred, a record even for popular brands.
Berthillon
Berthillon, a high-end ice cream manufacturer, holds a special place on this list. Its store is located in the very center of Paris. This cozy café gained popularity in the early 1960s after French restaurant guide Gault et Millau visited it.
Although many years have passed, modern experts still note the desserts’ natural composition and appreciate the use of high-quality ingredients. Interestingly, the recipe for Berthillon sorbet remains secret: the brand’s family is in no hurry to share it.
Blue Bell Creameries
Blue Bell Creameries is an ice cream manufacturer with over 100 years of history. However, the company was formerly Brenham Creamery, a butter manufacturer. In 1911, it began producing sweet confectionery, but it made only small batches because of limited funding. After a few years, the business became profitable, so in 1930 the company renamed itself in honor of the wildflowers that bloom in the summer, when people buy ice cream most often.
Carte D’Or
The first scoop of Carte D’Or ice cream was eaten in the 1970s. Initially, sweet lovers could try only five kinds: black currant, coffee, brandy liqueur, strawberry, and praline. Now, the flavor choice is much wider, offering both classic vanilla ice cream and authentic variants with mascarpone or salted caramel.
Interestingly, Carte D’Or uses only vanilla grown in Madagascar. The same principle of selectivity applies to other ingredients, as the Parisian premium dessert brand favors only the best. If it’s coffee, it’s from Colombia; cocoa, from Ecuador; rum, from the Caribbean; and strawberries, from Southern Europe.
Cornetto
The Italian company Cornetto produces frozen desserts in waffle cones, featuring butter and chocolate. The thin layer protects the wafer from soaking up liquid as the ice cream melts. The cone filling can vary. The Cornetto brand offers confectionery in various flavors, including berry, fruit, nut, yogurt, mint, vanilla, chocolate, and cream.
Cows Creamery
Cows Creamery sells ice cream and cheddar cheese made from milk. The production process can be observed at the headquarters in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The building is always open to tourists. The brand concept is based on the cow theme, underscoring the name’s connection and emphasizing the products’ natural origins.
Tauck World Discovery named The Cows Creamery chain one of the top ten stores in 2008. This is a significant accomplishment for a small company that started almost 50 years ago with an old-fashioned vanilla ice cream recipe.
Drumstick
Drumstick is one of Cornetto’s main competitors. However, it produces little that is truly traditional ice cream. It is more like a dairy dessert in crispy waffle cones with a piece of chocolate on the bottom. The treat usually includes cream, vanilla, nuts, and icing. However, unusual variants also include flavors such as caramel, strawberry cheesecake, cookies, or mint.
Glacio
Belgian ice cream maker Glacio was previously associated with Mövenpick and Nestle, but in 2003, its story began anew. The managers bought out the company and renamed it a year later. It now produces ice cream with traditional European flavors, such as chocolate. But these are not ordinary desserts; they are culinary masterpieces, as “Glacio” positions itself as a super-premium brand.
Häagen-Dazs
American Häagen-Dazs positions itself as a producer of luxury ice cream, and its price reflects that. However, it is worth it because the company’s founder, Ruben Mattus, has perfected the recipe, resulting in a velvety texture and perfect flavor.
Interestingly, Mattus coined the word “Häagen-Dazs.” He wanted the brand’s name to sound “Dutch,” so he spent considerable time choosing letter combinations until he found the one that finally satisfied him. In this way, the entrepreneur expressed his respect for Denmark for its treatment of Jews during World War II.
Initially, the company had only three original flavors: coffee, chocolate, and vanilla. Over time, the range expanded to include classic and experimental ice creams. Now, Häagen-Dazs offers desserts with unexpected toppings, from raspberry-mango to cherry-tomato. This means that this brand deserves its place in the top 14.
Magnum
Magnum’s first dessert, chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream on a stick, was introduced in the late 1980s. Because of its impressive size and weight, it was named after the Latin word for “big.”
In 1992, almond-flavored treats were added to the assortment, and ten years later, frozen yogurt with a fruit filling was introduced. At the same time, the company began producing “mini ice cream” candies with hazelnut, chocolate, and caramel fillings. Over time, experiments created desserts with honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other unexpected combinations.
Mövenpick Ice Cream
Mövenpick Ice Cream is part of a Swiss conglomerate that is also involved in the restaurant and hotel industries. Its history began in the second half of the 1940s when entrepreneur Ueli Prager opened his first catering establishment. Ten years later, the restaurant count grew to eight. You could order any dish there, but the amazing ice cream was not sold anywhere else and was especially popular.
Over time, Mövenpick entered into agreements with major manufacturers to produce ice cream for retail, thereby strengthening its position in the confectionery market.
Rocky Road
Rocky Road is the common name for a confection made from chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, and nuts. William Dreyer, one of the founders of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc., is believed to have invented this recipe in 1929. Another version credits George Farren as the author and says Dreyer changed the type of nuts.
However, we will discuss the modern brand Rocky Road, named after the famous sweet dish, not the dessert type. It’s a small American store created by Paul and Erin Kummo’s family in 2016. They handcraft their ice cream from the freshest ingredients.
Valio
When discussing lactose-free ice cream, the Valio brand is a notable mention. It belongs to a Finnish research and production company that processes over 80% of the country’s milk.
It offers about 1000 products, including a unique line of lactose-free ice cream. In 2018, it introduced six new flavors, marking the first time in 14 years. Liqueur, chocolate, caramel, carrot, blueberry, basil, strawberry, and other flavors have already found fans.