What Makes a Vanilla Milkshake Fan? Here’s What the Data Show

Jun 19, 2026 | 0 comments

When it comes to milkshake flavors, chocolate and vanilla are hard to beat. While these flavors are perennial rivals, with Vanilla Milkshake Day on June 20th, now is the perfect time to understand what sets vanilla milkshake fans apart from the rest.
CivicScience data show that 42% of Americans prefer vanilla over chocolate milkshakes. Gen Z also leads in their love of this classic shake flavor, outpacing all other age ranges by at least nine percentage points.

However, this demographic data is just the beginning of what puts vanilla milkshake fans in a glass of their own. Here’s what the data show:

Time in the Car: Fans of vanilla milkshakes are nine percentage points more likely to spend two or more hours in their car per day than fans of chocolate milkshakes (21% vs 12%).

Phone Carriers: While 25% of vanilla milkshake fans are likely to switch phone carriers, just 17% of chocolate milkshake fans say the same.

Communication Style: Those who prefer a vanilla milkshake are nine percentage points more likely than chocolate milkshake fans to use texts and messaging apps to communicate with friends and family (62% vs 53%).

Brand Loyalty: Among brand-loyal consumers, vanilla milkshake fans are nine percentage points more likely than chocolate milkshake fans to say that price affects their brand loyalty (31% vs 22%).

TV Preferences: Fans of vanilla milkshakes are four percentage points more likely than fans of chocolate milkshakes to watch On Demand TV (10% vs 4%).

Where do you stand? Take this poll now and see how your preference compares with other Americans:

Clearly, those who opt for a vanilla milkshake aren’t just the underdogs in the milkshake feud. They’re consumers with unique behaviors that extend beyond the glass and out into the world.

Love taking polls? Sign up to receive topical polls straight to your inbox every day in The CivicScience Poll of the Day here.

This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.

Your opinion matters! Sign up for your Poll of the Day email.