‘Not that good’: Classic ice cream flavour no one is eating anymore

Once a beloved freezer staple that manufacturers “produced constantly”, this old school ice cream flavour could soon be a thing of the past.

Chocolate chip ice cream – once a beloved freezer staple – could soon be obsolete.

While it remains in plentiful supply on Australian shores (and supermarket shelves), the classic flavour fell to eighth place in a list of America’s favourite ice cream in a 2024 survey from the International Dairy Foods Association, reports The New York Post.

Just two years ago, chocolate chip ranked fifth among consumers but incredibly low in sales, signalling a national souring for the scoop.

Chocolate chip ice cream – once a beloved freezer staple – could soon become obsolete. Picture: iStock

“Chocolate chip used to be a flavour we produced constantly,” communications specialist for manufacturer, Babcock Dairy Plant, Caroline Crowley, told The New York Times.

“Now it’s seasonal.”

In fact, it hasn’t been considered a principal flavour in over a decade for the nearly 75-year-old company, which took almost five months to sell out of 110 gallons (416 litres) of chocolate chip ice cream, but only three months to sell the same volume of chocolate chip cookie dough, which is available year-round.

Similarly, Texan creamery, Blue Bell, described chocolate chip ice cream as “a market-specific flavour”, telling The Times that it fell out of favour as a classic in the early 2000s.

While US dairy brands Breyers and Perry’s still produce chocolate chip ice cream, Times reporter Matt Richtel scoured frozen food aisles and local ice cream shops in Boulder, Colorado, in the hopes of finding the humble flavour.

While standing in the freezer aisle at a local grocer, chocolate chip ice cream lover Mark Swayer, 68, told The Times he hasn’t seen the dessert as often and has resigned to consuming vanilla – which, he noted, “goes well with rum”.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Ani Ward, who was perusing the frozen dessert aisle with her father, Sean Ward, is a harsh critic of chocolate chip ice cream. While she didn’t know the last time she had tasted the flavour, she declared: “It’s not the worst, but it’s not that good.”

Perhaps those with a sweet tooth are gravitating toward the extravagant flavours – those brimming with fudgy chunks, gooey swirls and buzzy names – thereby pushing out legacy classics, like the humble chocolate chip variety.

Former fan of the flavour, Joe Mruk, 39, told The Times his old favourite is “not here” anymore, so he’d traded it for a chocolate chip cookie dough variety instead, describing it as his “jam”.

'It’s not the worst, but it’s not that good.' Picture: iStock

Consumers are leaning more toward cookie dough flavours.

Oregon-based creamery Tillamook reported a dip in sales for staple scoops like vanilla, which, from 2018 to 2022, saw a 6.4 per cent decline while the creamery’s chocolate chip flavour slipped 22 per cent. The company told The Times it is focused on crafting innovative scoops: Brownie Batter, German Chocolate Cake, Dark Chocolate Cookies & Cream and Chocolate Hazelnut.

“There a whole aisle now,” Mr Ward told The Times, reflecting on his own upbringing in the 80s and 90s, when there was only a small pool of flavours to choose from.

“Every time I go over there, I’m like, ‘What am I buying now?’”

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission