This Supermarket Ice Cream Might Be Better Than Jeni’s

We like Jeni’s. Customers like Jeni’s. Everyone likes Jeni’s! Well, maybe not everyone – we can’t speak for the world here – but by and large, this brand gets it right. Chalk that up to its range of flavors, its great quality, and its willingness to innovate (even if some of its ventures, like its Ted Lasso flavor, don’t always stick the landing). As ice cream options go, it’s as solid as they come. 

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But you know what? There might be somewhere doing it better. Let’s discuss.

Jeni’s, You’ve Got Competition

A couple of days ago, a thread over in the r/icecream Subreddit piqued my interest, thanks to its slightly inscrutable but confident title: “Better than Jeni’s.” “What’s better than Jeni’s?” I wondered. “Which brand could be beating the ice cream supremo at its own game?” I further mused, as my finger traced the cursor over to the thread on my laptop mousepad, and I tapped to reveal the information within. 

The ice cream that the Redditor in question felt was better than Jeni’s was…Kroger’s Private Selection Denali Extreme Moose Tracks. Huh! “While we’ve all been chasing high end ice cream brands like Jeni’s everyone is sleeping on this,” said the person who posted the thread. “Literally a chocolate lovers dream come true. I loved it so much I ate the entire pint for breakfast.” That’s a bold sales pitch. It’s worth pointing out that the comparison of this flavor in particular to Jeni’s is slightly oblique, given that it doesn’t really have its own version of Moose Tracks (it had a limited-edition called Goose Tracks, but that was slightly different, imbued with berry flavors) – but that feels by the by. The implication here was that the quality of Kroger’s own ice cream beats out the more expensive brand. 

And Do Other People Agree?

Other people agree – and while they don’t necessarily reiterate that this ice cream is “better than Jeni’s,” they definitely have a lot of love for Kroger’s selection. “I tell everyone this is the best ice cream ever,” said another Redditor, while others waxed lyrical about the whole of the Private Selection range. 

That said, a few people did have Jeni’s back in the comment section, saying that the brand’s premium price point came with a premium ingredients list, which Kroger doesn’t match. Elsewhere, people highlighted the difference between tubs of Jeni’s and the ice cream you get in its scoop shops, saying that the latter is far better than anything Kroger could offer. The bottom line, though, is that if you’re on a budget, you could do a lot worse than this store’s private label.