Sweet, frozen treats like ice cream, frozen yogurt, and gelato are some of those delicious, nostalgic foods that seem like they’ve been around forever. There’s just nothing like sitting back on a hot summer day and getting lost in a triple scoop ice cream cone with all of your favorite flavors. Whether you’re partial to butter pecan or moose tracks, an affinity for ice cream is one thing that many Americans have in common. Perhaps that’s why there are many ice cream stands and frozen yogurt stores all across the country. In fact, by the end of 2013, there were about 2,582 frozen yogurt stores in the U.S.
Just how popular is the frozen dessert, though? How many people consume it a year? How many gallons upon gallons are produced each year? Well, in a given two-week span of time, about 40 percent of Americans consume some type pf ice-cream, according to studies carried out by the NPD Group. Additionally, the typical person in the U.S., regardless of age, will eat ice cream nearly 28.5 times just this year alone, and a whopping 90 percent of households in Amerca enjoy ice cream or frozen yogurt on a regular basis.
To keep up with America’s craving for ice cream, gelato, and frozen yogurt, manufacturers have to work hard throughout the year churning out the yummy treat, especially in June, which is the month that sees the highest production of ice cream. In fact, there are an estimated 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream, gelato, and other frozen treats produced each year in the U.S. To make all of that ice cream naturally requires a lot of milk, so much so that nearly nine percent of all the milk produced in the U.S. is used in the production of ice cream.
To keep America’s love of ice cream alive, ice cream, frozen yogurt, and gelato shops make it easy for visitors to try multiple flavors to ensure what they order is exactly what they want. It also exposed people to new flavors they might not have otherwise tried. With tasting spoons, everyone from the elderly to the very young can experience the full wonder of an ice cream shop in the summer time. Whether you choose to get a few scoops in an ice cream cup or ice cream containers to enjoy your treat at home later with the family, there’s something for everyone at your neighborhood ice cream shop.