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Famous ice cream logos: The top American ice cream brands
You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! Few treats have quite the same impact worldwide as delicious, refreshing ice cream. Today, we’re going to explore the most famous ice cream logos, and the amazing brands behind them…
Available in a huge selection of flavors and styles, ice cream is the perfect indulgence on a warm day. Apparently first invented during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), ice cream has been a part of our world for much longer than most people realize.
It’s little wonder so many incredible ice cream brands have sprung up through the years, introducing their own version of the frozen dessert.
In this post, we’re going to be taking you on a delicious journey through some of the most popular ice cream brands in the USA. With each entry on our list of American ice cream brands, we’ll be diving into the logo design for the company and considering how the image has helped the company thrive.
Here’s the scoop on the most popular ice cream logos and names.
Ben and Jerry’s
One of the most famous ice cream brands in the world, Ben and Jerry’s was created by two friends, Jerry Greenfield, and Ben Cohen, in 1978.
Currently owned by the British conglomerate, Unilever, Ben and Jerry’s operates worldwide, with 615 scoop shops, and tubs sold in supermarkets all around the globe.
The Ben & Jerry’s logo today is a fun and engaging word mark, featuring jaunty slab serif typography, curved to look as though it’s almost jumping with joy.
The wordmark, depicted in white to depict the purity of the ingredients in the brand’s ice-cream, is surrounded by a black banner with an orange border.
Orange is the color of creativity and excitement.
Baskin-Robbins
Another of the world’s largest ice cream companies, Baskin Robbins has more than 7,500 stores located around the world. Created in the year 1946, Baskin Robbins was born with the merger of two ice cream shops.
Burt Baskin started the brand with his brother-in-law, Irv Robbins. Both men had their own ice cream stores, one with 21 flavors, and the other with 10. The merged stores therefore had a total of 31 flavors to offer.
The “31” is still depicted in the Baskin Robbin’s logo today, within the “BR” monogram. The rest of the logo is fun and eye-catching. A sans-serif lowercase wordmark makes the company seem friendly and approachable.
The colors of blue and pink, often associated with boys and girls, highlights Baskin Robbins as a store for everyone.
Häagen-Dazs
Best-known as one of the top luxury ice cream brands, Häagen-Dazs is an American ice cream brand established by Rose and Reuben Mattus in 1960. The first store for Häagen-Dazs launched in the Bronx, in New York, and sold only 3 flavors.
Eventually, the company evolved to sell a wide range of ice cream bars, cakes, sorbets, and gelatos.
The Häagen-Dazs logo today is all about luxury and sophistication. With a modern sans-serif wordmark in the middle, and a minimalist border around the outside, Häagen-Dazs’ brand mark looks like an official “seal of approval” for the high quality contents within.
The maroon coloring of the wordmark just adds to the company’s sophisticated appeal.
Dairy Queen
One of the best-known ice cream logos in the world, Dairy Queen’s brand mark is a beacon of deliciousness for fans in the United States. While Dairy Queen is actually a fast-food establishment which sells a variety of foods, the location is best known for its frozen products.
Since 1940, Dairy Queen has evolved to become one of the most popular ice cream brands around.
The Dairy Queen logo today is a monogram in white, placed on a background in the shape of a pair of lips. The orange and blue swipes of color around the lettering are meant to represent the combination of hot and cold foods offered by the brand.
Wall’s
Another well-known ice cream brand owned by the Unilever Group, Wall’s is a British ice cream and frozen dessert company, which originally launched in 1922, 100 years ago.
Officially, Wall’s was a butcher’s company before it was an ice cream brand, and a name passed down from generation to generation.
The Wall’s logo doesn’t need a lot of exploration. The swirling shape is intended to represent the swirls created in cream when it’s being mixed to create ice cream. The overall shape of the swirls is a heart to represent passion, love, and enjoyment.
Underneath the brand emblem, we see the wordmark of the company, written in simple sans-serif font.
Cold Stone Creamery
Similar to Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery is both an American fast food brand, and an ice cream company. The brand launched in 1988 and specializes in delivering a huge range of ice cream flavors, made on location, and customized for each individual customer.
Although the store does sell other kinds of foods, it’s best-known for its ice cream.
Designed with a heavy focus on history and tradition, the Cold Stone Creamery logo gives a sense of heritage to the brand. The bold writing immediately captures attention, while the vibrant ice cream cone gives the impression of fun, excitement, and creativity.
Cold Stone also uses a classic color scheme for fast food – red and yellow.
Nestlé
One of the biggest companies in the food and beverage sector, the Nestlé brand is a Swiss company, best-known for its wide range of dairy items, ice creams, frozen foods, and chocolates. Over the years since it was first established in 1866, Nestlé has developed a wide selection of products, including the Nestlé ice cream line.
Nestlé is also responsible for brands like Moven Pick and Dreyers.
The Nestlé logo is based on the name of one of the original founders of the company, “Nestlé,” which translates to mean “Nest.” The image of the birds in a nest being fed by their mother is a symbol of caring and nurturing, but it also comes from the family crest of the Nestlé’s.
Blue Bell Creameries
One of the more traditional examples of ice cream brand logos on this list, the Blue Bell Creameries emblem originated in the United States, in Texas, during 1907. The company is best known for producing both butter and ice cream.
However, during the mid-20th century, Blue Bell abandoned its butter production to focus entirely on ice cream. The company is the third best-selling ice cream manufacturer in the US today.
The Blue Bell Creameries logo looks traditional, and highly reputable. The image, similar to an old-fashioned seal, shows the picture of a little girl leading a cow through a road. The design is intended to convey the childish joy of ice cream, and the history of the brand.
Dippin’ Dots
Dippin’ Dots is a unique ice cream snack created by Curt Jones during 1988. Unlike the majority of the ice creams on this list, Dippin’ Dots are created by flash freezing small amounts of ice cream in liquid nitrogen.
There are around 14 countries which sell this popular treat today. Unfortunately, however, the unique storage requirements of the ice cream mean it can’t be sold in supermarket stores.
Dippin’ Dots logo is as fun and quirky as the snack itself. The image features one of the iconic dots in the color orange, meant to symbolize creativity and freshness. The Dippin’ Dots wordmark looks as though it’s almost dancing on the page.
Breyers
Commonly considered one of the most famous ice cream brands in the world, Breyers was originally introduced in 1866, in Pennsylvania, within the United States.
The founder of Breyers, William A Breyer, started his business from home and initially sold ice creams via a horse and wagon on the streets. The brand is still going strong today.
The design of the Breyer’s logo conveys both luxury and freshness. The image of a leaf in the logo is excellent for highlighting the natural ingredients in the products. With the use of script-style font, Breyer’s ice cream logo also delivers a sense of indulgence.
Carte D’Or
We can’t have an article about famous ice cream brands without mentioning Carte D’or. One of the top ice cream brands in the world, Carte D’or was originally launched in 1978, in France before it exploded across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The brand range was initially intended for professional catering.
The logo for Carte D’Or is all about luxury and indulgence. The use of gold coloring conveys high quality, while the white reminds us of the creamy ice cream sold by the company. Carte D’or also uses the same heart-shaped emblem as the Wall’s brand.
Magnum
Another of the most popular ice cream brands in the world, Magnum was originally developed by Frisko in Aarhus, Denmark, as part of the Unilver brand.
The Magnum brand name is now owned by Unilever, and Magnum ice creams are typically sold with Wall’s branding, which can be seen in the iconic heart-shaped image on Magnum packaging.
Beyond the Wall’s heart, the Magnum logo features a bold wordmark, intended to convey a sense of power and strength. The Magnum ice cream brand experience is all about pleasurable, unforgettable experiences, which we can clearly see conveyed in this logo.
Cornetto
Another addition to our list of the most popular ice cream brands which falls under the “Wall’s” heartbrand product line, Cornetto is a frozen dessert best-known for its iconic ice cream cone. The name “Cornetto” actually means “little horn” in Italian, and Italy is where the treat first originated.
Interestingly, Cornetto has different names in various regions of the world.
The Cornetto logo is brimming with meaning. The little swirl in the “C” is designed to look like a heart, while the script letters convey a sense of luxury. The overall shape of the wordmark is also slightly narrowed to one side, making it look like a cornetto cone.
Dreyer’s
Originally introduced in 1928, around 94 years ago, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings began life in Oakland California, where you can still find the headquarters today. The company sells ice cream in location’s all around the world, through the parent company, Nestlé.
The official Dreyer’s logo is a delightful banner mark featuring the name of the company, with an ice cream cone in the place of the apostrophe for “Dreyer’s”. The yellow coloring symbolizes happiness and joy, while the playful script-style writing symbolizes creativity.
The “Scooping since 1928” line portrays the history of the brand.
Klondike
Unlike most of the ice cream brands in the USA mentioned on this list, Klondike isn’t actually an ice cream company – but a novelty product. Though often referred to as the “Klondike” ice cream brand, the Klondike bar first emerged in 1922, created by the Islay Dairy company in Youngstown, Ohio.
The brand was named after the Klondike River in Canada.
Designed to remind you of all-things cold, the Klondike logo features an icy white wordmark with a blue border. The polar bear on top of the logo seems to be walking across a snowy surface, adding to the chilly effect of the image.
Carvel
While there are plenty of different ice cream brands out there, it’s worth mentioning a few ice cream shop logos too. One of the better-known ice cream parlor logos in America is for the “Carvel” company.
Owned by Focus Brands, this franchise is best-known for its ice cream cakes, and soft-serve ice cream. Carvel advertises itself as the “Freshest ice cream” in America.
Originally launched in 1929, the Carvel logo has changed a few times over the years. Today, the symbol for the brand is unique compared to other ice cream shop logos, as it’s depicted entirely in red – a color not often associated with ice cream.
The swirling shapes of both the ice cream icon and the wordmark are excellent for depicting soft serve.
Blue Bunny
Produced by Wells Enterprises in America, Blue Bunny Ice Cream is one of the better-known products for American consumers. The company produces many different ice cream flavors, under the wider Well’s parent brand.
The most recent logo for the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Company is a far more modern design than its previous creations. This image is a wordmark depicted in blue (a naturally cold color). The “B” for “Blue Bunny” features a set of ears and a fluffy tail to make it look like a rabbit.
It’s a playful and eye-catching logo, ideal for a family-focused food brand.
Turkey Hill
Otherwise known as Turkey Hill Dairy, Turkey Hill is an American brand best-known for selling a wide range of beverages, frozen desserts, and ice creams throughout the US.
The company, which first launched in 1931 during the Great Depression, was eventually sold to Kroger, then private equity firm, Peak Rock Capital, in 2019.
Though the name of Turkey Hill might seem a little unusual for an ice cream brand, the logo is great for reminding customers of a dairy farm. The traditional-style banner wordmark conveys a sense of history and heritage.
On top of the banner, we also see an image of a dairy farm, which draws attention to the nature of the company.
Halo Top
A company earning a lot of attention in recent years, as customers search for more waistline-friendly ice cream brands, Halo Top Creamery first launched in 2012. Today, the company sells ice cream in different countries worldwide, including the US, Canada, and New Zealand.
The lower-calorie alternative substitutes sugar partially with stevia.
The Halo Top Creamery logo includes the name of the logo and a unique image in gold. The image looks similar to the top of an ice cream cone, with the letter “H” for “Halo” placed within it.
The line above the H reminds us of the company’s name.
Umpqua Dairy
Umpqua Dairy, a company first founded in 1931, is one of the more popular ice cream logos and names found within supermarkets around the United States today. A portion of the original wooden building used to create Umpqua ice cream in 1936 is still standing today.
The company is still owned by members of the original creator’s family.
The Umpqua ice cream brand logo features the name of the company, as well as the date when the business first originated (1931) to help bring a sense of history and heritage to the organization.
The image of the native American in the logo has been the source of some controversy for the group over the years.
MaggieMoo’s
Another popular pick from our list of ice cream parlor logos, MaggieMoo’s ice cream and “treatery”, is a chain of independently owned and operated franchise stores, specializing in serving all kinds of desserts, including ice cream.
The brand first launched in 1989, in Kansas City, and had more than 400 stores at its peak.
Intended specifically to appeal to children, the Maggie Moo’s ice cream brand logo is fun and playful. The use of the word “treatery” is particularly interesting, to help make the company seem more inviting.
In the logo, we see both an eye-catching central character, and the name of the business, great for capturing the attention of younger customers.
Pinkberry
Pinkberry is one of the younger ice cream brands in the US on this list. The franchise organization first began opening frozen dessert restaurants in 2005. Since then, around 260 stores have opened across 20 countries.
Pinkberry is popular because it allows customers to personalize their frozen desserts with a wide selection of toppings.
The Pinkberry logo is refreshing and natural, featuring a pink berry with the iconic ice cream swirl in the middle. Use of the color green in the wordmark is ideal for reminding us of natural ingredients.
The scoop on ice cream logos
There’s certainly no shortage of famous ice cream brand logos to explore in America, and throughout the world.
Ice cream logos are often designed to fall into one of two categories. Either the images showcase a sense of luxury and indulgence, like Carte D’Or or Haagen Dazs, or they’re all about playfulness and fun, like Baskin Robbins.
Hopefully, this list of ice cream brand logos and names has offered a useful insight into some of the tactics these companies use to attract the attention of their target audience.
If you want to learn more about some of the top ice cream brands in the world, or discover the truth behind more famous logos, remember to browse through our wide selection of Logofiles.
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
As Fabrik’s creative director, Stephen oversees complex branding programmes. He advises our clients on their tone of voice, creates logos and visual identities and crafts names for companies, products and services. Writing for Brand Fabrik Stephen reflects his love for logo design and visual identity.
