Top National Ice Cream Brands by State

Blue Bell is the most searched national ice cream brand in 22 states

Source: Trace One analysis of Google Trends data

Across the U.S., one ice cream brand stands out for its national appeal: Blue Bell. Although the Texas-based company did not expand beyond its home state until the 1980s, Blue Bell has become one of the top brands in the U.S. in the decades since. Out of the most popular national brands, Blue Bell is the most-searched in 22 states, mostly in the South and Midwest. This is more than the next two most-searched brands, Ben & Jerry's (9) and Tillamook (8), combined.

While Baskin-Robbins finds popularity in select areas of the West and Midwest, Tillamook's appeal is mostly concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, near its Oregon headquarters. Ben & Jerry's, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont, holds the honor of the most searched national ice cream brand across all six New England states. Similarly, Breyers, based in New Jersey, leads in popularity in nearby New York, while Turkey Hill, located in Pennsylvania, is the top national brand in both Pennsylvania and Delaware. Notably, Halo Top—founded in Los Angeles, California—ranks as the most searched national ice cream brand in North Dakota and Wyoming.

When considering regional ice cream brands, a distinct trend emerges: in 21 different states, the top brand is one that operates physical scoop shops exclusively within that single state's borders. Rather than larger multi-state chains dominating local search interest in these markets, residents show a strong preference for supporting homegrown brands. For instance, Washington's clear favorite is Seattle’s Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream, Maine rallies behind Gifford's Ice Cream, and Colorado gravitates toward Denver’s Little Man Ice Cream Company—with similar single-state operators like Dave's Hawaiian Ice Cream in Hawaii and Sebastian Joe's in Minnesota leading the pack in their respective home states.

In contrast, a select group of larger regional chains manages to cross state lines and capture the top spot across broader geographic territories. Oklahoma-headquartered Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy serves as a prime example, leading search interest for regional ice cream brands across a multi-state footprint that includes Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Similarly, established names like Jeni's Ice Creams and Handel's Homemade Ice Cream lead in popularity across several states in the South and West, respectively.

The analysis was conducted by Trace One using data from Google Trends. For more information, see the methodology section. For complete results, see The Most Popular Ice Cream Brand in Every State on Trace One.

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