In Celebration Of National Ice Cream Month, Baskin-Robbins Reveals The Top 10 Ice Cream Flavors That Make People The Happiest

CANTON, Mass., July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With National Ice Cream Month in full swing, Baskin-Robbins, the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, is revealing which ice cream flavors make people the happiest. Baskin-Robbins recently partnered with Juliet A. Boghossian, a behavioral food expert and founder of Food-ology®, an original methodology that links food-related habits to personality traits and behavioral tendencies, on a survey to uncover some interesting insights into how ice cream flavors can enhance or initiate positive outlooks for ice cream fans.

"It's surprising to most people when they learn that specific ice cream flavors can increase one's happiness more than others," said Juliet A. Boghossian, Founder of Food-ology. "For example, the ice cream flavors enjoyed as a child can actually trigger happy memories, release tension and remove distractions in the moment. Ice cream lovers can also consume a dose of happy by choosing a flavor with mood enhancing ingredients like chocolate, coffee, almonds or mint."

According to the survey, the thought of ice cream puts 71% of people in a happy mood even if they are preoccupied, stressed or in a serious mood, while more than 60% of people are happiest, motivated and inspired when enjoying ice cream with family and friends. In addition, 63% of people believe an ice cream break is downtime to be silly, talk and enjoy each other's company, free of distractions.

In addition, based on the survey, the top ten ice cream flavors that make people the happiest in rank order are:

1. Chocolate
2. Jamoca® Coffee
3. Very Berry Strawberry
4. Rocky Road
5. Vanilla
6. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough   
7. Mint Chocolate Chip  
8. Chocolate Chip
9. Pralines 'n Cream
10. Rainbow Sherbet

"At Baskin-Robbins, we know that National Ice Cream Month is all about enjoying ice cream and special moments with family and friends, which is why this year, we wanted to share with our guests the ice cream flavors that make people the happiest," said Carol Austin, Vice President of Marketing for Baskin-Robbins. "No matter which ice cream flavor you enjoy most, we look forward to sharing Baskin-Robbins' 'more flavors and more fun' with our guests during this fun and special time of the year."

As part of its celebration of National Ice Cream Month, Baskin-Robbins is also offering guests a free freshly-baked waffle cone upgrade with the purchase of a double scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream. The offer is available at participating Baskin-Robbins shops nationwide throughout the summer months.

For more information about Baskin-Robbins' wide variety of ice cream flavors and frozen desserts, visit www.BaskinRobbins.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/BaskinRobbins), Twitter (www.twitter.com/BaskinRobbins) or Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/baskinrobbins31).

Survey Methodology
Findings based on empirical and quantitative research. Empirical research performed by behavioral food expert and Founder of Food-ology, You are HOW you Eat®, Juliet A. Boghossian, between 2002 and 2013, 200+ adult subjects, (50/50 male/female) residing in the United States. Quantitative data based on an online survey among 1,000 U.S. adults 18+ (50/50 male/female), performed in 2010, using the field services of Authentic Response. The margin of error at the 95% level of confidence is ±3.1%.  The top 10 'happy' ice cream rankings were derived based on a scoring system which combined top flavor preferences among 1,000 U.S. adults 18+ (50/50 male/female), and ice creams with the most mood enhancing ingredients.  

About Baskin-Robbins
Named the top ice cream and frozen dessert franchise in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine's 35^th annual Franchise 500® ranking, Baskin-Robbins is the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops. Baskin-Robbins creates and markets innovative, premium hard scoop ice cream and soft serve, custom ice cream cakes and a full range of beverages, providing quality and value to consumers at 7,300 retail shops in nearly 50 countries. Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by two ice cream enthusiasts whose passion led to the creation of more than 1,000 ice cream flavors and a wide variety of delicious treats. In 2013, more than 13 million ice cream cakes were sold in Baskin-Robbins shops worldwide. Headquartered in Canton, Mass., Baskin-Robbins is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. DNKN family of companies. For further information, visit www.BaskinRobbins.com.  

Contact:
Justin Drake
Dunkin' Brands
781-737-3315
justin.drake@dunkinbrands.com

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SOURCE Baskin-Robbins