INTRODUCTION
Ice cream has been manufactured in the United States
since at least the time of the Revolutionary War. However,
a commercial ice cream industry did not emerge
until the middle of the 19th century. As with many other
dairy products, ice cream is differentiated in several
dimensions. Fat content is perhaps the most obvious of
the ways to categorize ice cream, but others categorizations,
including texture, flavor(s), and sweetness, are
also used. The factors that affect consumer decisions
among the types of ice creams, which are essentially
close substitutes, are of interest to many. In addition to
economic variables such as prices, other factors such as
demographics and location are important.