Hjem-IS facts for kids
Hjem-IS (in Denmark and Norway), Hemglass (in Sweden), and Kotijäätelö (in Finland) all mean "Home Ice Cream." This is a well-known Nordic brand of ice cream. It's famous for how it delivers ice cream right to people's homes. Its light blue ice cream vans sell ice creams by the box, which is different from how many ice cream vans work in other parts of the world. In Sweden, the van plays a special signature tune that sounds a bit like the Laurel and Hardy theme music. In Denmark, the van rings a bell to let people know it's there.
Contents
The Story of Home Ice Cream
How It Started
The company Hemglass was started by Eric Ericsson in Sweden in 1968. Over time, it grew and began selling ice cream in other countries too. It came to Denmark in 1976. Later, in 1993, it started operating in Norway and Finland.
A Big Company Takes Over
From 1991 to 2008, there was a main company called Hjem-IS Europa A/S. Its main office was in Kolding, Denmark. The company also sold ice cream in some parts of the United Kingdom from at least 1989 until the early 2000s.
Changes in Ownership
The entire group became part of a very large food company called Nestlé in 2002. However, on December 31, 2013, Nestlé sold off the different parts of the company. The Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish parts were sold to three different companies. The Finnish part of the business was closed down.
What Happened Next
The Swedish part, Hemglass, was sold to a company called Varsego Sverige AB. In 2014, the Norwegian part was taken over by Isbjørn Is. Hjem-IS Denmark was sold to a group of four investors for free. They combined it with their own company, Viking Is. This new, combined company was later sold in 2017 to another ice cream maker, Premier Is. Premier Is was also once owned by Nestlé and is now part of a company called Food Union.
