The ice cream and sorbet market - United States

Ice cream is a food made from milk, sugar, fruit and a variety of flavors. Sorbet, on the other hand, is made only of sugar syrup and fruit pulp or flavors. Different types of ice cream are available for sale, such as cones and sticks, ice cream specialties to share (ice cream logs and cakes) or sorbet and ice cream tubs, and those sold in hypermarkets and supermarkets. In terms of volume, US consumption is dominated by individual specialities (cones, sticks, etc.) and by sorbet and ice cream in bulk (sorbet tubs in particular). The snacking ice cream segment plays the most important role in ice cream sales, especially during the summer period, and ice cream consumption varies considerably depending on the weather conditions. The global ice cream and sorbet market is growing and will continue to do so in the coming years. Several factors are driving this growth, including premiumization and flavor innovation. On the contrary, the consumption of low quality ice cream has decreased. Vanilla is the most common flavor, followed by chocolate. New Zealand consumes the largest amount of ice cream per person per year (28.4 liters), followed by the United States, Australia and Finland [worldatlas]. In the U.S., sales value increased by 1% in 2019, while volumes fell by 2%. This confirms the premiumization trend that characterizes the ice cream and sorbet sector. In addition, the infused protein ice cream segment has been growing since 2016..  The structure of the U.S. market is relatively concentrated; Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and Unilever accounted for nearly one-third of sales in 2019. The top-selling brand is Haagen-Dazs. In terms of innovation, the industry is very dynamic, forcing players to continue creating new products.