Some things may seem polarizing right now, but what most of us can apparently agree on is an affinity for Baskin-Robbins.

New data released from YouGov breaks down the “popularity” of each brand measured by the percentage of consumers who have a positive opinion of those brands. Collectively, Baskin-Robbins is the favorite for all adults, with 74% popularity. This is followed by Dairy Queen (73%), Dunkin’ (72%), and Krispy Kreme (68%). It seems most adults have a bit of a sweet tooth.

 

Rounding out the top 25 for all adults are:

5. Domino’s

6. Taco Bell

7. Olive Garden

8. Cinnabon

9. Texas Roadhouse

10. Popeyes

11. Wendy’s

12. Chick-fil-A

13. KFC

14. Pizza Hut

15. A&W Restaurants

16. The Cheesecake Factory

17. Cracker Barrel

18. Chili’s

19. Red Robin

20. IHOP

21. Applebee’s

22. Outback Steakhouse

23. Red Lobster

24. Papa Johns

25. Cold Stone Creamery

Of course, popularity doesn’t always translate to sales. According to Technomic data, Baskin-Robbins’ sales were flat in 2024, for instance. Dairy Queen, Dunkin’, and Krispy Kreme were all positive, however, so do with that what you will.

 

Demographic differences

Unsurprisingly, the order of favorite brands shuffles somewhat when broken down by demographic. Baskin-Robbins and Dairy Queen retained their top two positions for Baby Boomers, but they were followed sequentially by Olive Garden, Wendy’s, The Cheesecake Factory in the top five.

Rounding out Boomers’ top 20 are:

6. Krispy Kreme

7. A&W

8. Dunkin’

9. Panera Bread

10. Taco Bell

11. Cracker Barrel

12. Denny’s

13. Outback Steakhouse

14. Subway

15. Cinnabon

16. Marie Callender’s

17. Chick-fil-A

18. Applebee’s

19. Texas Roadhouse

20. Boston Market

For the oft-forgotten Gen X consumers, Baskin-Robbins again takes the crown, followed by Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, and Popeyes in the top five. Rounding out the top 20 are:

6. Krispy Kreme

7. Pizza Hut

8. Cinnabon

9. Outback Steakhouse

10. Subway

11. Texas Roadhouse

12. IHOP

13. KFC

14. Chick-fil-A

15. Domino’s

16. Dunkin’

17. Arby’s

18. Cracker Barrel

19. Sonic

20. Red Robin

As for Millennials, Dunkin’ takes the top spot, followed by Dairy Queen, and Domino’s. Completing the top 10 are Chick-fil-A, Krispy Kreme, Taco Bell, KFC, Popeyes, Chili’s, and Panda Express, respectively.

The Cheesecake Factory, Little Caesars, and Outback Steakhouse are Nos. 11 through 13, and Baskin-Robbins finally makes its entrance with the millennial cohort at No. 14. Rounding out the top 20 are Wendy’s, Cracker Barrel, Burger King, Red Robin, Cinnabon, and Dave & Buster’s.

In addition to preferential variances between age demographics, men and women also have their differences, which should surprise exactly no one.

For men, the favorites are Taco Bell and Domino’s, followed by Dairy Queen, Krispy Kreme, and Baskin-Robbins. Dunkin’, Red Robin, Popeyes, Wendy’s, and Cracker Barrel round out their top 10.

Women, meanwhile, have crowned Baskin-Robbins as their favorite brand, followed by Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, Dunkin’, and Texas Roadhouse.

The rest of their top 10 are Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery, Outback Steakhouse, Krispy Kreme, and Popeyes.

Noticeably absent from all these demographic lists? McDonald’s and Starbucks, the top two restaurant chains in the U.S. by sales.

This specific survey, however, also measured the “most famous dining brands” based on the percentage of people who have heard of them. For the “all adults” category, the top 10 included Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, Burger King, Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, and Papa Johns. McDonald’s comes in at No. 15.

It might also be worth mentioning that Baskin-Robbins is the only restaurant brand out of all brands in the top 50, coming in at No. 49. That list is dominated by consumer packaged goods brands such as M&Ms, Ritz, Oreo, and others.

YouGov’s survey includes a sample size of up to 2,000 respondents and uses a statistical method called a Z score. The top Z score doesn’t necessarily show the majority opinion of the group, but what is most different about the opinions of that group compared to the general population.