Thanks to President Ronald Reagan, we celebrate National Ice Cream Day on the third Sunday in July, meaning July 20 this year!

In 1984, Reagan decreed a day for ice cream, and also proclaimed July as National Ice Cream month, describing the frozen treat as "a nutritious and wholesome food enjoyed by over 90% of the people in the United States."

Last year, U.S. ice cream makers produced over 1.3 billion gallons and accounted for over $11 billion in economic impact, including thousands of jobs. Many ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers are family owned, with the majority in business longer than 50 years, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

In honor of summer’s favorite dessert, here's a look at some of R&FF's recent coverage of ice cream and frozen novelties.

Tillamook’s Eastern Expansion

R&FF was honored to be on hand last month for the grand opening and “first scoop” ceremony at Tillmook’s new ice cream plant in Decatur, Illinois.

The fastest-growing family size ice cream brand in the United States is in production at its first owned-and-operated manufacturing site outside of Oregon. The production facility marks a key milestone in the 116-year-old farmer-owned co-op’s national expansion.

“This is an exciting step forward for our co-op, and we are energized by the new opportunities that the Decatur manufacturing plant opens for TCCA,” said David Booth, president and CEO of TCCA. “Decatur offers strategic access to our growing customer and consumer base, and we hope this new production facility will help enable Tillamook to become the ice cream of choice for consumers in the Eastern United States.”

According to Circana data (Total U.S. MULO) 4.4 million consumers have purchased Tillamook Ice Cream since 2021, including more than 1 million new consumers purchasing in 2024 alone – driving Tillamook Ice Cream dollar sales growth by over 13% in a single year. More than 600,000 of those new consumers are from the Eastern United States.

You can read more about the new Tillamook facility in our upcoming July eMag. (July 9)

And, Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches, a Virginia-based, handcrafted, small batch ice cream company, is investing $5.8 million to move into a new production facility and corporate headquarters in the city of Richmond. Established by a husband-and-wife team Hannah Pollack and Xavier Meers, in 2016, Nightingale Ice Cream manufactures specialty ice cream sandwiches that are non-GMO and free of artificial ingredients and dye.

Ice Cream Packaging Innovations

Bubbies Ice Cream, the No. 1 mochi ice cream brand in the natural channel, launched certified home-compostable paper pulp trays this year.

As part of its ongoing commitment to reduce plastic waste and keep paradise clean, Bubbies partnered with Earthcycle to develop the exclusive certified home-compostable inner tray for all its products. This small sustainable switch has a big impact, as it’s estimated to eliminate approximately 310 tons of plastic from entering landfills annually.  After extensive testing, Bubbies created a planet-friendly solution that functions comparably to its previous plastic trays, but with 94% less plastic.

The transition to the new paper pulp trays for Bubbies entire mochi ice cream portfolio has already begun, with nationwide availability.

Overall, packaging trends in ice cream reflect those of the larger F&B industry: improving efficiency, supporting sustainability and leveraging automation for better operational control.

Read more about innovations in ice cream packaging.

NFRA Names Soft Serve Ice Cream as Top Penguin Pitcher

NFRA announced the winners of its second annual Penguin Pitch: Emerging Brand Contest, created to spotlight up-and-coming brands reshaping the frozen and refrigerated aisles through innovation, flavor and purpose.

CVT – for chocolate, vanilla and twist – is a portable soft serve ice cream in a pouch, available at retailers and DTC. It was crowned overall winner, NFRA said, for its nostalgic taste, simple ingredients, and “game-changing” format.

Other cold foods brands earned honors in the following subcategories:

• Most Unique Promotional Campaign: Frönen, for its clean ingredients and nostalgic flavor.
• Most Disruptive Product: Jesse & Ben’s, praised for reintroducing tallow in a clean-label fry.
• Most Creative Packaging: Actual Veggies, with its bold color, educational design, and kid appeal.

As the Grand Prize winner, CVT Soft Serve earned a table at Café NFRA at the 2025 NFRA Convention, October 18–21, in Orlando, Florida.

The NFRA is also sponsoring a consumer contest, giving away free ice cream for a year. Details and entry form are here.

No Disney Trip Needed

Dole Whip, the fruit-first frozen treat known as a Disney parks staple for decades is now available in the freezer aisle nationwide. Made with fruit purée as its first ingredient, the Dole Whip offers a bold, fruity flavor and the smooth, velvety texture that fans crave.

This exciting launch includes two refreshing flavors, Pineapple and Mango, which are available in single-serve cups, perfect for on-the-go or at-home enjoyment. Available in two sizes: four-packs of 3.6-fluid-ounce cups at select grocery stores and eight-packs of 3.6-fluid-ounce cups at Costco.

These ready-to-enjoy, gluten- and dairy-free (though manufactured on a line that also processes dairy) options are perfect for hot summer days, afternoon pick-me-ups or little treat rituals. 

You can see all the LTOs and latest new releases in ice cream and frozen novelties here.

Still hungry for more? Take our 10-question quiz to check your ice cream intelligence – who knows? You might just learn something new. And, if you’re still not satisfied, check out this history of ice cream from PBS.