Contents
- Frozen dessert sales statistics: U.S. retail category sales
- Frozen dessert sales statistics: U.S. retail units and leading sellers
- frozen dessert sales statistics: Frozen dessert production: annual U.S. output by product
- frozen dessert sales: Frozen dessert production: monthly U.S. output and seasonality
- frozen dessert sales: Ice cream and frozen dairy production trends
- Frozen dessert sales: South Korea market context
- Sources
Frozen dessert sales statistics: U.S. retail category sales
Frozen dessert sales statistics can describe retail dollar sales, units sold, or factory production. These measures cover different stages of the market, so the figures below are kept distinct. The Circana figures reported by Dairy Foods cover Total U.S., Multi Outlet+ with convenience stores. Each report describes a rolling 52-week period, ending November 3, 2024, or November 2, 2025, rather than a calendar-year total. Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
For the 52 weeks ending November 2, 2025, the ice cream category recorded $7.5 billion in dollar sales. Other reported categories were ice milk/frozen dairy desserts at $652 million, sherbet/sorbet/ices at $295 million, and frozen yogurt/tofu at $301 million. Sales value rose 29% for ice milk/frozen dairy desserts and 7% for sherbet/sorbet/ices compared with the preceding 52 weeks. Frozen yogurt/tofu sales fell 5%. These changes describe dollar sales; the reports do not establish what caused them. Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
The earlier report used a combined ice cream/sherbet category. Its sales were $8.65 billion in the 52 weeks ending November 3, 2024, up 3% year over year. The same report put ice cream alone at $7.5 billion. Ice milk/frozen desserts recorded nearly $500 million in sales, up 17%, while sherbet/sorbet/ices recorded $277 million, up 8%. The combined $8.65 billion category and the later $7.5 billion ice cream-only figure have different scopes. Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends
| U.S. retail category | 52 weeks ending Nov. 3, 2024 | 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice cream | $7.5 billion | $7.5 billion |
| Ice cream/sherbet combined | $8.65 billion | — |
| Ice milk/frozen dairy desserts | Nearly $500 million | $652 million |
| Sherbet/sorbet/ices | $277 million | $295 million |
| Frozen yogurt/tofu | — | $301 million |
Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
A dash means the report did not provide a figure for that category and period; it does not mean sales were zero. “Nearly $500 million” is approximate because that is how the 2025 report described the amount. Ice cream appears at $7.5 billion in both reports, but the observations are for rolling periods with different end dates. Dollar sales measure value, not the number of purchases. Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
Frozen dessert sales statistics: U.S. retail units and leading sellers
For the 52 weeks ending November 2, 2025, U.S. ice cream unit sales were 1.55 billion, down 3% year over year. Dollar sales for the category were $7.5 billion. Units count purchases, while dollars record their sales value; these measures alone do not explain why they moved differently. Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
The 2024 report recorded 1.85 billion units for the broader ice cream/sherbet category in the 52 weeks ending November 3, 2024, up 1%. The 2025 unit figure covers ice cream alone, so the two totals do not describe identical category scopes. Private-label ice cream had 416 million units and $1.6 billion in sales in the 2024 period. In the 2025 period, it had 411 million units and $1.6 billion in sales. The reports describe private-label units as down 2% in 2024 and 1% in 2025, while dollar sales rose 2% and 1%, respectively. Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
| U.S. retail measure | 52 weeks ending Nov. 3, 2024 | 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ice cream/sherbet category units | 1.85 billion | — |
| Ice cream units | — | 1.55 billion |
| Private-label ice cream units | 416 million | 411 million |
| Private-label ice cream dollar sales | $1.6 billion | $1.6 billion |
Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
Among named ice cream sellers, Ben & Jerry’s recorded $1.1 billion in dollar sales in the 52 weeks ending November 2, 2025, up 5.5%. Its unit sales increased 5.3% to just shy of 200 million. In the 52 weeks ending November 3, 2024, its sales were $1.02 billion, up 4%, and its unit sales were 190 million, up 5%. These are retail brand measures for the stated rolling periods. Source: Dairy Foods, 2025 market trends Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
Tillamook recorded $434 million in ice cream dollar sales, up 9%, and 76 million units, up 2%, in the 52 weeks ending November 2, 2025. These figures describe retail sales and units, not factory output. Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
Other 2025-period measures show the reported figures for two additional categories. Ice milk/frozen dairy desserts recorded 154 million units, up 33%, alongside $652 million in dollar sales. Frozen yogurt/tofu recorded just shy of 70 million units, down 3%, and $301 million in sales, down 5%. The paired values report units and dollars; they do not explain the reasons for the changes. Source: Dairy Foods, 2026 market trends
frozen dessert sales statistics: Frozen dessert production: annual U.S. output by product
USDA’s Dairy Products 2025 Summary reports U.S. production in thousand gallons. In calendar year 2025, regular ice cream production totaled 845,115 thousand gallons, including 722,082 thousand gallons of hard regular ice cream. Lowfat ice cream totaled 380,879 thousand gallons. These are production quantities, not retail sales or purchases. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, p. 17
| U.S. product or table category | 2025 production (1,000 gallons) |
|---|---|
| Ice cream, regular, total | 845,115 |
| Ice cream, regular, hard | 722,082 |
| Ice cream, lowfat, total | 380,879 |
| Ice cream, nonfat, total | 12,051 |
| Sherbet, total | 25,047 |
| Yogurt, total | 34,147 |
| Water and juice ices | 64,458 |
| Other frozen dairy products | 13,624 |
Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, p. 17
The USDA table labels the 34,147-thousand-gallon entry “Yogurt, total”; that source label is retained here. Mixes appear separately from finished-product totals: regular ice cream mix production was 473,470 thousand gallons, lowfat ice cream mix was 223,303 thousand gallons, and nonfat ice cream mix was 7,241 thousand gallons. Sherbet mix totaled 16,286 thousand gallons. Keeping mix rows separate preserves the report’s distinction between mix and product. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, p. 17
The report’s plant-count note excludes counter-freezers. The production figures retain the table’s categories and units; they are not retail package counts. Retail dollar and unit measures come from a separate source and population, so they cannot be substituted for production in gallons. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, p. 17
frozen dessert sales: Frozen dessert production: monthly U.S. output and seasonality
Monthly production observations show output for particular months. Regular ice cream production was 87,454 thousand gallons in June 2024, 88,783 thousand gallons in August 2024, and 74,327 thousand gallons in September 2024. Selected 2025 observations include 66,875 thousand gallons in January, 74,692 thousand gallons in April, and 70,315 thousand gallons in October. Production was 57,356 thousand gallons in November 2025 and 56,113 thousand gallons in December. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, pp. 13, 15, 17
| Month and year | Regular ice cream production (1,000 gallons) |
|---|---|
| June 2024 | 87,454 |
| August 2024 | 88,783 |
| September 2024 | 74,327 |
| January 2025 | 66,875 |
| April 2025 | 74,692 |
| October 2025 | 70,315 |
| November 2025 | 57,356 |
| December 2025 | 56,113 |
Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, pp. 13, 15, 17
Within these selected 2024 observations, June and August production were higher than September. Among the selected late-2025 months, November and December production were below October. These are partial observations, not a complete monthly series for a single year; they do not establish a full seasonal profile or quantify a general seasonal pattern. Factory production measures output, not consumer demand or retail purchases. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, pp. 13, 15, 17
For water and juice ices, production was 4,513 thousand gallons in January 2025 and 6,795 thousand gallons in June 2025. The USDA monthly table for water and juice ices excludes counter-freezer production. In June 2025, other frozen dairy products production was 1,406 thousand gallons. These observations refer to the report’s named categories and use thousand gallons. Source: USDA NASS, Dairy Products 2025 Summary, pp. 15, 54
frozen dessert sales: Ice cream and frozen dairy production trends
USDA Economic Research Service reports that U.S. production of ice cream and other frozen dairy products declined 10% from 2000 to 2024, reaching 1,386 million gallons in 2024. The reported peak in that period was 1,542 million gallons in 2003. This is an aggregate historical production measure, distinct in period and scope from the product-level 2025 USDA table and the retail sales figures. Source: USDA ERS, “Ice cream and frozen dairy production dipped from 2000 to 2024”
Within the period summarized by ERS, regular ice cream remained the dominant category at around 60%–65% of total ice cream production. Lowfat and nonfat ice cream together varied between 24% and 34% of production share. These approximate ranges describe production mix over the historical period, not precise shares for a particular year. The mix figures refer to ice cream categories, while the aggregate trend includes ice cream and other frozen dairy products. Source: USDA ERS, “Ice cream and frozen dairy production dipped from 2000 to 2024”
Frozen dessert sales: South Korea market context
South Korea offers a separate national market reference, reported in won. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports domestic ice cream sales of 1.4 trillion won in 2024, an increase of 1.28% compared with 2023. Bar ice cream recorded 468 billion won in domestic sales in 2024. These figures describe South Korea’s domestic ice cream market, not U.S. retail sales. Source: USDA FAS, Korea Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Market Brief 2025, pp. 1–2
The brief also reports a 14% compound annual growth rate for South Korean imports of ice cream and frozen yogurt from 2020 to 2024. Separately, domestic ice cream sales rebounded 5% from 2022 to 2024. The import measure covers ice cream and frozen yogurt over 4 years; the domestic sales statement covers a different measure and period. They are separate indicators and should not be combined into a single growth rate. Source: USDA FAS, Korea Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Market Brief 2025, p. 1
Sources
- Ice cream sees small declines, but ice milk/frozen dairy picks up the slack
- Ice cream sales are hot
- Dairy Products 2025 Summary
- Table Data - Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing: Shipments
- Ice cream and frozen dairy production dipped from 2000 to 2024
- Korea Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Market Brief 2025