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Breyers

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Not to be confused with Bryers or Dreyer's.
This article is about the ice cream brand. For the brand of model horses, see Breyer Animal Creations. For the singular for the plural, see Breyer (disambiguation).
Brand logo
Product typeFrozen dessert
OwnerUnilever
CountryUnited States
Introduced1866; 158 years ago (1866)
Previous ownersKraft Foods Inc.
Websitebreyers.com

Breyers is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand with headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Founded in 1866, it is one of the oldest ice cream companies in the United States.

Since 1993, Breyers has been owned and managed by the British conglomerate, Unilever.[1][2]

Breyers manufactures dessert products described as ice cream or as frozen dairy desserts. It is among the best-selling ice cream brands in the United States, having 2022 sales of $498 million.

When global ice cream sales declined in 2023, Unilever announced plans to sell its ice cream companies, including Breyers, by the end of 2025.[3]

History

Breyer ice cream truck, c. 1915

In 1866, William A. Breyer began to produce and sell ice cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, first from his home, and later via horse and wagon on the streets.[2][4] Breyer's son Henry incorporated the business in 1908. By 1918, Breyers produced one million gallons of ice cream annually.[2]

The formerly independent Breyers Ice Cream Company was sold to the National Dairy Products Corporation/Sealtest in 1926.[5] National Dairy then changed its name to Kraftco in 1968, and Kraft by 1975. Kraft sold its ice cream brands to Unilever in 1993, while retaining the rights to the name for yogurt products.[2][6]

Unilever purchased Breyers ice cream and merged it with Gold Bond and Good Humor ice cream to create the Good Humor-Breyers division.[2] Kraft retained the rights to produce Breyers-branded yogurt.[7][8] Unilever closed its last Breyers plant in Philadelphia in 1995.[5] Good Humor-Breyers moved its headquarters from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Toronto and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in 2007.[9]

Products

Breyers groups its dozens of products in three flavor categories:[10]

  • Classics made with milk and cream with natural colors and flavors,
  • Better For You desserts manufactured to be low in calories with lower carbohydrate content and no sugar added for flavor
  • Cookies & Candies, which contain pieces of cookies or branded candies.

Generally by choice of ingredients, Breyers manufactures its frozen desserts to be either "original ice cream" or "frozen dairy dessert", both in numerous variations of composition, flavors, and consumer preferences for specialty diets.[10][11][12] Some 60% of Breyers products are ice cream and 40% are frozen dairy desserts.[11]

Examples of ice cream in the Breyers Classics category include "Homemade Vanilla", "Chocolate", and "Cherry Vanilla".[10] Better For You products include those made to be gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, and "CarbSmart", among others.[10] The Cookies & Candies category has products made with branded ingredients, such as peanut butter, fudge, toffee or cookie pieces.[10]

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ingredient requirements for frozen dessert products are defined in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, subchapter B.[13] As detailed in Part 135.110, the FDA regulation for ice cream manufacturing requires the contents of milk fat and total milk solids to not be less than 10% for each component.[13] Breyers original ice cream products in the Classics category contain at least 10% milk fat and total milk solids to meet the regulated ingredient requirements.[11][12] (see Nutrition Facts label for each product).[10]

Ice cream

Breyers is one of the oldest manufacturers of ice cream in the United States.[14]

Breyers ice cream products are made from milk, cream, sugar, tara gum, and flavors derived from natural sources, such as vanilla.[10][12] Since 2016, Breyers has participated in a partnership with the Rainforest Alliance to produce its vanilla flavors from sustainably-sourced vanilla beans.[11][15] Vanilla is a best-selling brand of Breyers ice cream.[11][14]

As an example of the composition of Breyers ice cream, the sugar-free vanilla ice cream is 68% water, 22% carbohydrates, 6% fat, and 4% protein.[16] In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), the Breyers sugar-free ice cream provides 143 calories of food energy.[16]

Frozen dairy dessert

Breyers frozen dairy desserts are manufactured with skim milk, corn syrup (or maltitol syrup), sugar or a sugar substitute, polydextrose, glycerin, and various other ingredients that may include whey, carob bean gum, guar gum, carrageenan, and added micronutrients.[11][17] Breyers frozen dairy dessert products are manufactured specifically to be different from the original ice cream products with the intent to provide a smoother texture, less fat, and lower calories.[11][12]

As an example of composition in a Breyers frozen dairy dessert, the product Birthday Blast is 38% carbohydrates, 7% fat, and 4% protein.[17] In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), the Breyers Birthday Blast frozen dairy dessert provides 228 calories of food energy.[17]

Consumer concerns and feedback

In 2013, Breyers introduced frozen desserts made with food additives (section above) that were intended to create smooth, low-calorie products.[11][12] However, the new desserts evoked complaints by consumers who were accustomed to the traditional "all-natural" Breyers ice cream.[11][12][18]

A 2014 report indicated that some flavors of Breyer's ice cream contained propylene glycol as an additive.[19] According to another source, propylene glycol was formulated into Breyer's fat-free and Carb Smart ice cream to make it easier to scoop.[20] In the small quantities used for making ice cream and numerous manufactured foods, propylene glycol is considered GRAS and is an approved food additive in the United States.[21] As of 2024, the ingredients list of individual Breyers products indicates that propylene glycol is no longer used as an additive (view Ingredients and Nutrition, click on smartlabel).[10]

In a 2022 survey of consumer preferences for ice cream and Better For You frozen dairy desserts, including Breyers products, "all-natural" and a short list mainly of dairy ingredients with natural sweeteners, reduced sugar or no added sugar were the preferred attributes.[22]

Discontinued yogurt

Breyers Yogurt was a brand of yogurt owned by Kraft Foods then by CoolBrands International, a former Canadian frozen foods manufacturer. After CoolBrands ran into financial trouble, it was sold in 2007 to Healthy Food Holdings, an affiliate of Catterton Partners, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut.[citation needed]

The yogurt was manufactured under license from Unilever at an upstate New York facility until the licensing agreement was terminated and the Breyers Yogurt line was discontinued in April 2011.[23] Catterton continued to produce YoCrunch yogurt but without the Breyers co-branding until it sold the company in August 2013 to Group Danone.[24][25]

Commerce

Breyers is part of the Unilever ice cream group of companies, which include Ben & Jerry's, Wall's, Magnum, and others.[3][26] In 2022, Breyers had $498 million of sales revenue in the United States.[27]

When 2023 ice cream sales declined globally, Unilever announced that it would divest its ice cream group of companies, including Breyers, by the end of 2025.[3]

Confusion with Dreyer's

In the Western United States and Texas, Breyers ice cream is sometimes confused with Dreyer's ice cream.[6][28] Henry Breyer founded Breyers in 1908, while William Dreyer and Joseph Edy co-founded Edy's Grand Ice Cream in 1928 in Oakland, California.[2][6]

The root of the confusion dates to 1953 when "Edy's Grand Ice Cream" was changed to "Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream".[6] Seeking to eliminate the confusion this created, Dreyer's changed its brand name in the home market of Breyers from "Dreyer's Grand" back to "Edy's Grand" in 1981.[29] Around that same time, Breyers had begun an expansion toward the West Coast — the home market of Dreyer's — and by the mid-1980s, was distributing ice cream throughout the western United States and Texas.[29] Unlike Dreyer's, Breyers kept its brand name nationally, and as a result, both Breyers and Dreyer's can be found on store shelves in the western United States and Texas.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Breyers". Unilever. 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "About Breyers History". 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Ziady, Hanna (19 March 2024). "Ben & Jerry's and Magnum will form the core of an $8 billion ice cream company". CNN. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  4. ^ Amy Ettinger (27 June 2017). Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-101-98420-8.
  5. ^ a b Ivey, Dave. "Ice Cream Factory Closing After 128 Years; 240 Jobs Melting Away". The Associated Press. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d "History of Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Company". Fundinguniverse.com. Unilever. 1996. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  7. ^ Goff, H. Douglas; Hartel, Richard W. (2013). Ice Cream. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-4614-6096-1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  8. ^ Janofsky, Michael (9 September 1993). "Unilever to Gain Breyers In Kraft Ice Cream Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Unilever to close Green Bay office". Milwaukee Business Journal. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Breyers - All Flavors". Breyers. 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Riddle, Holly (2 February 2023). "The Untold Truth Of Breyers". Mashed. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Demas, Alex (21 May 2024). "Claims That Breyers Doesn't Sell 'Real' Ice Cream Are False". The Dispatch. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Frozen desserts, Title 21, Subchapter B, Part 135". Code of Federal Regulations, US Food and Drug Administration. 27 March 1998. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  14. ^ a b Braun Davison, Candace (9 August 2016). "11 Things You Should Know Before Buying Breyers Ice Cream". Delish. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Breyers: Certification Seal for Vanilla". Rainforest Alliance. 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Breyers ice cream, sugar-free, vanilla per 100 g". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "Birthday Blast, Breyers Frozen Dairy Dessert per 100 g". FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  18. ^ Barry, Dan (15 April 2013). "Ice Cream's Identity Crisis". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  19. ^ Duprey, Rich (1 November 2014). "FDA Says Antifreeze Ingredient Propylene Glycol Is Safe to Eat - Have You Had Your Fill Today?". Seattle Post Intelligencer.
  20. ^ Zinczenko, David (31 December 2013). Eat It to Beat It!: Banish Belly Fat-and Take Back Your Health-While Eating the Brand-Name Foods You Love!. Random House Publishing Group. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-345-54794-1.
  21. ^ "Propylene glycol, Subpart B - Listing of Specific Substances Affirmed as GRAS, Sec. 184.1666 (original 25 June 1982)". Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, US Food and Drug Administration. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  22. ^ Sipple LR, Racette CM, Schiano AN, Drake MA (January 2022). "Consumer perception of ice cream and frozen desserts in the "better-for-you" category". Journal of Dairy Science. 105 (1): 154–169. doi:10.3168/jds.2021-21029. PMID 34763919.
  23. ^ North Lawrence Dairy Done Archived 2011-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, Watertown Daily Times, January 18, 2011
  24. ^ "Danone acquires YoCrunch, a mix-in toppings specialist, to support continued yogurt growth in the USA". Finance.danone.com. August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  25. ^ "Danone Buys YoCrunch Yogurt-Topping Maker to Grow in U.S." Bloomberg.com. August 2013.
  26. ^ "Our Compass Organisation: introducing Unilever's five new Business Groups". Unilever. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  27. ^ Berk, Brian (22 November 2022). "2022 State of the Industry: Ice cream category sees bright future ahead". Dairy Foods. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  28. ^ Gellene, Denise (19 June 1986). "East vs. West in Ice Cream Fight: Breyers' Attempt to Scoop Dreyer's Breeds Confusion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  29. ^ a b c "Dreyer's: Our Story". IceCream.com. 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
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