Breyers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 
Brand logo
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| Owner | Unilever |
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| Introduced | 1866 |
| Previous owners | Kraft Foods Inc. |
Breyers is a very old and popular brand that makes delicious ice cream and other frozen treats. Its main office is in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. A big company from Britain called Unilever has owned Breyers since 1993. Breyers started way back in 1866. This makes it the oldest company in the United States that still makes ice cream!
Breyers offers many kinds of frozen desserts. They have classic ice cream and also special options. These include treats that are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, or even vegan.
Breyers is one of the top ten best-selling ice cream brands in the whole world. In 2022, it was the fourth most popular brand in America.
Contents
The Story of Breyers
The Breyers story began in 1866. A man named William A. Breyer started making and selling ice cream. He lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Breyers is the oldest ice cream maker in the United States.
At first, William Breyer made the ice cream by hand. He used cream, sugar, fruit, and nuts. He sold it to his neighbors right from his home. As more people wanted his ice cream, he started selling it from a horse and wagon. By 1882, William Breyer had five ice cream shops. He also had a delivery service. In 1896, he opened a bigger factory to make more ice cream.
The company officially became Breyer's Ice Cream Company in 1908. By 1918, they were making a huge amount of ice cream. They produced one million gallons every year!
In 1926, a company called National Dairy Products Corporation bought Breyer's Ice Cream Company. This company later became known as Kraft. Then, in 1993, Kraft sold its ice cream brands to Unilever.
After buying Breyers, Unilever combined it with other ice cream brands. These included Gold Bond and Good Humor ice cream. Together, they formed the Good Humor-Breyers division. Unilever closed the last Breyers factory in Philadelphia in 1995.
Around 2013, Breyers started making "frozen dairy desserts." These new products had different ingredients and less fat. They were made to offer lower-calorie options. Because they had less than 10% butterfat, they had to be called "frozen dairy dessert" instead of "ice cream" by law. Some customers were not happy about this change. They missed the original, all-natural ice cream.
Breyers Around the World
Unilever's ice cream business is worth about $8.6 billion. Breyers is one of the top 10 most valuable ice cream brands in the world. In 2022, Breyers had sales of $498 million. This made it the fourth biggest ice cream brand in America.
What Breyers Makes
Breyers sells its frozen treats in two main groups. These are "original ice cream" and "frozen dairy dessert." About 60% of Breyers products are real ice cream. The other 40% are frozen dairy desserts.
Breyers also makes products for people with special diets. They have sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. Some products are also vegan, non-GMO, or lactose-free. They even have "CarbSmart" desserts for people who want fewer carbohydrates.
Breyers groups its flavors into three types:
- Classics: These are made with milk, cream, and natural colors and flavors.
- Better For You: These desserts are made to have fewer calories. They have less sugar or no sugar added.
- Cookies & Candies: These treats have pieces of cookies or famous candies mixed in.
Real Ice Cream
Breyers ice cream products are made with milk, cream, and sugar. They also use tara gum and natural flavors, like vanilla.
Frozen Dairy Desserts
Breyers frozen dairy desserts are made with skim milk, corn syrup (or a similar syrup), and sugar or a sugar substitute. They also contain ingredients like polydextrose, glycerin, and sometimes whey. Other ingredients can include carob bean gum, guar gum, and carrageenan. These desserts also have micronutrients added.
Breyers vs. Dreyer's: A Common Mix-Up
Sometimes, people in the Western United States get Breyers ice cream mixed up with Dreyer's ice cream. Dreyer's was started in 1928 by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. It was first called Edy's Grand Ice Cream.
The confusion started in 1948. That's when Edy's Grand Ice Cream changed its name to "Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream." To try and fix the mix-up, Dreyer's changed its name back to "Edy's Grand" in the eastern parts of the U.S. in 1977. But they kept the "Dreyer's" name west of the Rocky Mountains. Around the same time, Breyers started selling its ice cream in the western U.S. By the mid-1980s, Breyers was sold all over that region. This made it even easier for people to get the two brands confused!
More to Explore
- Henry West Breyer Sr. House
- List of ice cream brands
