GB Glace facts for kids
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Formerly
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Glace-Bolaget |
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| Predecessor |
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| Founded | 1942 |
| Products | Ice cream |
| Parent | Unilever |
GB Glace is Sweden's biggest ice cream company. It was first called Glace-Bolaget until 1991. The company started in 1942. Later, a British company called Unilever became a partner in 1973. Unilever then fully bought GB Glace in 1996.
Contents
The Story of GB Glace
How Ice Cream Started in Sweden
People have been making ice cream in Sweden since the late 1920s. Stockholm's first ice cream maker was a company called Choklad-Thule. Another company, Fyris, started making ice cream in Uppsala in the early 1930s. However, Fyris went out of business in 1933.
In 1934, a company called Pressbyrån stopped working with Choklad-Thule. Pressbyrån then started making its own ice cream. They used the old machines from Fyris. This is how another company, Alaska Glace, began in Stockholm.
Mjölkcentralen Joins In
The company Mjölkcentralen (MC) also started making ice cream in 1934. This happened after Eric Wilhelm Hanner returned from studying ice cream making. He had visited countries like Denmark, Switzerland, and the USA. He convinced MC that making ice cream was a good way to use extra milk fat. This fat used to be thrown away.
MC's first ice cream factory was built in Stockholm. It was ready before the spring of 1935. The factory and machines cost about 245,000 Swedish Kronor. MC's ice cream was named Puck. It was first sold in March 1935. Another company, Igloo Glace, also started in Märsta that year. Later, Igloo and MC joined together.
The Birth of Glace-Bolaget
By the end of 1941, there were four ice cream makers in Stockholm. In 1942, Mjölkcentralen's ice cream part and Choklad-Thule joined forces. They bought Alaska Glace. The new company was named Glace-Bolaget (GB). Eric W. Hanner became the first CEO. He led the company until 1972.
During World War II, it was hard to get ingredients for ice cream. GB had to use less fat and find other things to put in their ice cream.
In 1955, ice cream became very popular in Sweden. GB made more ice cream but still had to bring some in from Denmark. Two years later, in 1957, Scandinavia's largest ice cream factory opened in Flen.
- Photos from the Glace-Bolaget customer magazine in 1958.
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Ice cream cakes.
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Ice cream freezer.
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Advertisements for ice cream.
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Ice cream delivery truck.
Growing Across Sweden
In 1962, Unilever bought two of GB's rivals, Gille-Glace and Trollhätteglass. The next year, in 1963, six ice cream companies owned by dairies joined with GB. This meant GB was almost everywhere in Sweden. The only part missing was southern Sweden.
GB came to southern Sweden in 1966. After joining with Malmö Glass and Åhus Glass, GB was sold all over the country. In 1972, GB bought Strands Glass AB. This included a factory in Öjebyn, near Piteå. In 1973, Glace-Bolaget joined with Trollhätteglass. This is when Unilever became a partner in the new company.
Unilever Takes Over
In 1985, GB's parent company, Arla, decided to sell Glace-Bolaget to Unilever. Arla kept ten percent of the shares. When Unilever took over, the factory in Flen was rebuilt and reopened. The company was still called Glace-Bolaget. But the name GB Glace was so well known that in 1991, the company officially changed its name to GB Glace.
In 1994, GB Glace started selling ice cream in Finland. They also tried to sell in Norway but it did not work out. By early 1996, GB Glace was fully owned by Unilever. In 1998, GB Glace changed its logo. It now featured a heart, which is used by all of Unilever's ice cream brands around the world.
In 2011, Unilever bought a Finnish ice cream company called Ingman Ice Cream. By 2013, the two companies' operations were combined. This meant that GB Glace stopped being a separate brand in Finland.
Products You Can Find
GB Glace sells many different kinds of ice cream. Besides its own traditional ice cream brands, it also makes many products that other Unilever ice cream companies sell. For example, they make products similar to those sold by Langnese in Germany.
