We’re kicking off National Ice Cream Month with a look at several new ice cream products and flavors from eight different brands. Unique flavor combinations is the theme among many of these new product releases, with varieties like sea salt caramel espresso, cinnamon churro, cheese crown and peanut butter pretzel, in both ice cream and gelato.

New ice cream products focus on unique flavors

1) Hiland Dairy Foods Co., Springfield, Mo., introduced six new varieties to its ice cream lineup for summer 2016 — homemade vanilla, caramel coffee, mint chip (sold in square packaging) and sea salt caramel espresso, red velvet cake and French silk (sold in the square-round packaging).

The ice cream is being distributed to grocery stores in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa. The new square flavors have a suggested retail price of $3.99 for the square packaging and the square-round package at $4.99.

2) Cincinnati-based Graeter’s added a Cheese Crown ice cream flavor to its line earlier this year and two new flavors hit stores this month. The Cheese Crown flavor pays homage to the popular baked good with a rich cream cheese base along with crunchy cinnamon pastry pieces and fondant icing ­flakes. The two new flavors are Vienna Coffee and Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip. All the flavors are available nationwide in select retailers for a suggested retail price of ­­­$4.99 to $5.99 per pint.

3) Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus partnered with Minnesota-based The Schwan Food Co. last year to create Jack Nicklaus Ice Cream. The brand recently added seven new flavors to its line: blueberry cheesecake, black cherry, mint & chip, chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies & cream, pineapple upside down cake and mango crisp. The ice cream is now available at Kroger, Publix and Cub stores in select markets, including Florida and central Ohio. The suggested retail price for the pints is $1.99.

4) Yuengling’s Ice Cream, Orwigsburg, Pa, added four new super-premium ice cream flavors in March. These flavors – butter pecan, cherry vanilla chunk, cinnamon churro and cookies & cream – joined the company’s roster of 14 year-round flavors and two seasonal ice creams. The new flavors will be available in both quarts and pints; availability will vary by retailer.

5) Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., rolled out 17 new frozen treats in 2016 across five of its ice cream brands – Breyers, Good Humor, Klondike, Magnum Ice Cream and Popsicle. Each brand is dishing out an assortment of popular flavors and favorite desserts reimagined as frozen treats, which are now available in grocery stores nationwide. Read more about those product releases here.

6) Minneapolis-based Dairy Queen, owned by Berkshire Hathaway Co., kicked off summer with a new addition to its DQ Bakes — hot-from-the-oven desserts paired with ice cream. The new Funnel Cake a la Mode features a hot, crispy, golden brown funnel cake that’s dusted with powdered sugar and served with a side of DQ soft serve, and drizzled with a choice of hot fudge, caramel or strawberry topping. The new dessert is available at Dairy Queen's nationwide for a suggested retail price is $3.99.

New gelato flavors dip into interesting flavor combos

7) Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, Dallas, added six new flavors for 2016:

• Chocolate Sorbetto: A cocoa sorbetto that delivers a smooth, simple and rich chocolate taste.
• Coconut Almond Chocolate Gelato: Coconut shreds, semi-sweet chocolate flakes and salted roasted almonds all blended into coconut gelato.
• Key Lime Pie Gelato: Key lime gelato with a textured graham swirl and graham cracker pieces.
• Peanut Butter Pretzel Gelato: Peanut butter gelato with a peanut butter ripple and chocolate peanut crunchy pretzel balls.
• Vanilla Caramel Swirl Gelato: Classic vanilla bean gelato with a swirl of Talenti dulce de leche.
• Wild Blackberry Gelato: A blackberry gelato with a smooth blackberry swirl.

The new flavors can be found major retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $4.99 to $5.99.

8) Conestoga, Pa.-based Turkey Hill Dairy introduced Gelato Swirls to its line. The new five-flavor line-up combines the creamy texture of gelato, but with added ingredients not often seen in traditional gelato flavors. The five varieties are: brownie fudge, mint cookie crunch, raspberry chocolate, caramel peanut butter and caramel cookie. Gelato Swirls is available in 32-ounce sizes for a suggested retail price of $4.99. It's sold at select grocers and convenience stores east of the Mississippi.