Frozen dessert fast-food chains are favorite stores that consumers enjoy visiting, but the financial crisis has led to bankruptcies and closings in some cases, leaving customers disappointed.
The ice cream shop industry has reported a 0.9% growth in 2025, according to data from IBISWorld, but still faces economic problems.
“Despite modest growth in appetite for ice cream, significant challenges must be navigated,” IBISWorld said in the report.
Among the economic challenges cited by the report is the rising price of milk, which cuts into profits.
Tariffs on Canadian dairy products have also increased the cost of milk and butter needed to produce ice cream, which raises retail prices and reduces profit margins, the report said.
Customers’ most favorite stores include Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s, Cold Stone Creamery, Dairy Queen, and Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers.
Some chains ran into some financial problems in 2025 that forced them to file for bankruptcy or close locations.
Ice cream shop operators have cited various reasons for the closures, including rising costs of products driven by labor and inflation or, more recently, tariffs; higher lease payments; Higher interest rates increased the cost of borrowing; And changing attitudes towards shopping by consumers.
About 30 Dairy Queens in Texas lost their franchises in the first half of 2025 when the parent company, American Dairy Queen, pulled franchisees from franchise project Lonestar after failing to rebuild its locations. This means those locations cannot order supplies from the parent corporation and will have to close.
And now Creamy Treats Inc. filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 2 for the Northern District of California, listing $500,000 to $1 million in assets and $100,000 to $500,000 in liabilities, according to RK Consultants.
The San Francisco-based ice cream shop, which specializes in fresh ice cream sandwiches, did not list a specific reason for filing for bankruptcy protection, but among its largest unsecured creditors was Halil Budan, who was paid $98,000 in an employment law suit. The debtor also enlisted Square Financial Services, paying $27,000.
Berkeley, Calif., ice cream chain operator Cream, which was founded in 2010 by Jimmy and Gus Shamieh and has 7 locations in Northern California, did not file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
An earlier version of this story inadvertently said Cream had filed for bankruptcy.
