Ice cream is a year-round treat across the U.S., and this summer, a few shops really stood out. Creative marketing, exceptional flavor development, genius LTO leveraging — you name it, and these ice cream brands made it happen. 

There’s always something to learn from industry-leading brands. Learn how these top ice cream shops leveraged consumer trends and made the dessert space their own. 

Soft Swerve: New York City, NY

Soft Swerve is known for “Instagram-worthy” frozen desserts. With exciting global flavors like Ube Purple Yam and Hong Kong Milk Tea, Soft Swerve offers consumers both beauty and flavor explosion in every bite. For the more classic soft serve lovers, they still have the basic vanilla base you know and crave. 

Mitchell’s Ice Cream: San Francisco, CA

Mitchell’s Ice Cream in San Francisco is family-owned and known for rich, creamy ice cream in local neighborhoods. First famous for introducing mango ice cream in the Bay Area, it remains one of the most popular ice cream shops in the country, featuring Filipino flavors like macapuno and ube, which are exploding in popularity online. 

Henry’s Secret Ice Cream: Los Angeles, CA

Henry’s Secret is perhaps the master at LTO marketing. This shop only drops four flavors per week, and they never restock them again. Each pint is only available for delectable enjoyment via pre-order and pickup, and most sell out within minutes of each drop. 

Max’s Best Ice Cream: Bethesda, MD

Nothing screams “upscale retro” like Max’s Best Ice Cream in Maryland. Their aesthetic diner atmosphere and ultra-sweet ice cream flavors combine with more risque offerings, like boozy milkshakes and overflowing “extreme shakes,” to make them a landmark shop for visitors and tourists. 

Consumers who value an “at-the-counter” dine-in ice cream experience and over-the-top viral milkshakes flock to this place. 

Related: Why Banana Is Having a Moment: Inside the Flavor Trend Brands Can't Ignore

Margie’s Candies: Chicago, IL

At Margie’s Candies in Chicago, consumers get a taste of the past. It’s best known for its old-fashioned ice cream sundaes, classic ice cream flavors, and incredibly creamy specialty desserts. As a family-owned ice cream shop since 1921, Margie’s Candies is one of the top retro ice cream stops for nostalgic consumers across the Midwest. 

Cone-Cept: Nashville, TN

Cone-Cept blends the traditional ice cream parlor experience with modern lingo and minimalism. Their small menu, which only features five different ice cream flavors, is exceptionally classic-modern. 

Creative toppings that play on consumer nostalgia, like Lucky Charms marshmallows and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, combine beautifully with the simplicity of the menu itself. 

Bumsan Organic Milk Bar: Los Angeles, CA

Known for its Instagram-worthy, beautiful swirls, Bumsan Organic Milk Bar in Los Angeles has more than earned its following. As soft serve rises in popularity, more consumers flock to shops like this, with Korean-inspired soft serve flavors and versatile toppings. The menu is simple but sweet and customizable. 

Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream: Los Angeles, CA

Mashti Malone’s is a go-to ice cream shop for exotic, global ice cream flavors that inspire and delight. They’re known for unique flavors like Persian cucumber, saffron rosewater, and Turkish coffee. 

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What These Shops Do Best

The best-performing shops feature cultural staples in the form of ice cream flavors, like ube and mango. Consumers want to feel inspired and creative with every bite, and exotic flavors invite them toward new ways of thinking. 

Limited-batch drops are still driving traffic to viral ice cream shops. LTOs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and ice cream shops, both large and small, can learn from Henry’s Secret in this area. 

Nostalgia is king across several food and beverage sectors right now, and ice cream toppings are the perfect way to make a positive impression. Add fun extras like cereals from millennial and Gen-Z childhoods alongside classics like hot fudge and whipped cream. 

What This Means for Your Shop

Expand your menu to include at least a few unique, globally inspired ice cream or soft serve flavors. As consumers look for interesting toppings and customizable options like fun sauces to spruce up their ice cream, having these additions on hand makes all the difference. 

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