Breyers
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Breyers is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand with headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.<ref name="unilever">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 1993, Breyers has been owned and managed by the British conglomerate, Unilever.<ref name=unilever/><ref name="breyers-about">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Founded in 1866, Breyers is the oldest manufacturer of ice cream in the United States.<ref name="History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Breyers makes products described as ice cream or as frozen dairy desserts.<ref name="riddle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its products range from traditional dairy desserts to those for specialty diet concerns, such as sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.<ref name=riddle/>
Breyers is one of the ten best-selling ice cream brands globally,<ref name="ziady1">Template:Cite news</ref> and was fourth among American brands in 2022 with sales of $498 million.<ref name="berk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
In 1866, William A. Breyer began to produce and sell ice cream in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<ref name=History/><ref name="Ettinger2017">Template:Cite book</ref> The ice cream was hand-cranked and made from cream, sugar, fruit, and nuts.<ref name=History/><ref name="riddle"/> He first sold it to his neighbors from his home, and later via horse and wagon on the streets of Philadelphia as demand for the product grew.<ref name=History/><ref name="riddle"/> By 1882, Breyer had five ice cream shops and a delivery service for the product.<ref name=History/><ref name=riddle/> He opened a wholesale manufacturing plant in 1896.<ref name="riddle"/>
Breyer's Ice Cream Company was incorporated in 1908.<ref name=History/><ref name="duke">Template:Cite news</ref> By 1918, the company produced one million gallons of ice cream annually.<ref name=breyers-about/><ref name=History/>
Breyer's Ice Cream Company was sold to the National Dairy Products Corporation/Sealtest in 1926.<ref name=duke/><ref name="ivey">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1930, National Dairy Products purchased the company that later become known as Kraft in 1976.<ref name=History/><ref name="riddle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kraft sold its ice cream brands to Unilever in 1993.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Goff">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="NYT3">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1993, Unilever merged the Breyers ice cream brand with Gold Bond and Good Humor ice cream to create the Good Humor-Breyers division.<ref name=breyers-about/><ref name=History/> Unilever closed its last Breyers plant in Philadelphia in 1995.<ref name=ivey/> The Good Humor-Breyers headquarters were moved from Green Bay, Wisconsin and Oakville, Ontario to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and Toronto in 2007.<ref name="csp">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2013, Unilever introduced a new category of Breyers products called frozen dairy desserts made with additional ingredients and less butterfat, having created this category to provide smooth, low-calorie products.<ref name=riddle/><ref name=demas/> The main manufacturing change in the new products from Breyers "all-natural" ice cream was a lower fat content, following federal regulations that require ice cream with less than 10% butterfat and milk solids to be labeled as "frozen dairy dessert".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the new desserts evoked complaints by some consumers who were accustomed to the traditional "all-natural" Breyers ice cream.<ref name=riddle/><ref name=demas/><ref name="barry">Template:Cite news</ref>
MarketEdit
Part of the $8.6 billion Unilever ice cream group,<ref name=ziady1/><ref name="unilever-group">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Breyers is among the world's top-10 most valued ice cream brands.<ref name=ziady1/><ref name="ziady2">Template:Cite news</ref> With $498 million in sales in 2022, Breyers was fourth among American brands.<ref name=berk/> In 2024, Unilever announced it would sell Breyers and its other ice cream brands by the end of 2025.<ref name=ziady1/>
ProductsEdit
Breyers manufactures its frozen desserts to be either "original ice cream" or "frozen dairy dessert".<ref name=riddle/><ref name="demas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="products">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some 60% of Breyers products are ice cream and 40% are frozen dairy desserts.<ref name="riddle" />
Breyers manufactures products for consumers with specialty diets, such as sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, non-GMO, lactose-free, and "CarbSmart" for people preferring low-carbohydrate desserts.<ref name=riddle/><ref name=products/>
Breyers groups its products in three flavor categories that include Classics (made with milk, cream, and natural colors and flavors), Better For You desserts (manufactured to be low in calories with lower carbohydrate content and no sugar added for flavor), and Cookies & Candies (which contain pieces of cookies or branded candies).<ref name=products/>
Ice creamEdit
Founded in 1866, Breyers is the oldest manufacturer of ice cream in the United States.<ref name=History/><ref name="delish">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Breyers ice cream products are made from milk, cream, sugar, tara gum, and flavors derived from natural sources, such as vanilla.<ref name=riddle/><ref name=demas/><ref name=products/>
Frozen dairy dessertEdit
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.<ref name=riddle/><ref name="fdc-bb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Confusion with Dreyer'sEdit
In the Western United States, Breyers ice cream may be confused with Dreyer's ice cream, the company cofounded by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy as Edy's Grand Ice Cream in 1928 in Oakland, California.<ref name="lat">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="IceCream">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The root of the confusion dates to 1948 when the Edy's Grand Ice Cream name was changed to "Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream".<ref name=IceCream/> Seeking to eliminate the confusion, Dreyer's changed its brand name in the home market of Breyers from "Dreyer's Grand" back to "Edy's Grand" in 1977, while retaining the Dreyer's brand west of the Rocky Mountains.<ref name=IceCream/> Around that same time, Breyers had expanded its market into the western United States — the home market of Dreyer's — and by the mid-1980s, was distributing ice cream throughout the region.<ref name=lat/>