Wall's (ice cream) facts for kids
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| Owner | Unilever |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1922 |
| Related brands | Wall's (meat) |
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Wall's is a popular brand known for its delicious ice cream and other frozen treats. It's a big name in the United Kingdom and is owned by a company called Unilever. Wall's is also part of a larger, worldwide family of ice cream brands known as Heartbrand. You might recognize the Heartbrand logo, which looks like a heart! Wall's also owns the rights to the Mr. Whippy soft-serve ice cream mix, which is often sold from ice cream vans.
Contents
The Story of Wall's
How Wall's Began
The Wall's company started a very long time ago, in 1786. A man named Richard Wall opened a butcher's shop in London, England. His business sold sausages, pies, and other meats.
In the early 1900s, Richard's grandson, Thomas Wall II, was in charge. He noticed a problem: in the summer, fewer people bought meat. This meant the company had to let go of some staff until demand for meat went up again.
From Meat to Ice Cream
To solve this problem, Thomas Wall II had a clever idea in 1913. He thought, "Why don't we make ice cream in the summer?" This way, they wouldn't have to lay off their workers. However, the First World War started, so his idea had to wait.
It wasn't until 1922 that the ice cream idea finally came to life. By then, the business had been bought by two other companies, Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie. They put Maxwell Holt in charge. He loved the ice cream idea, and it became a huge success almost immediately!
Ice cream production began in 1922 at a factory in Acton, London. As the ice cream became more popular, Wall's needed more space. In 1959, they opened a much bigger, special ice cream factory in Gloucester, England.
A Special Garage
There's a garage in Benhilton, Sutton, London, that was built around 1913. It's still used today! This garage was originally where Thomas Wall's business stored the famous 'Stop Me and Buy One' bicycles. These bikes were used to sell ice cream directly to people on the streets.
Future Changes for Wall's
In March 2024, the company that owns Wall's, Unilever, announced some big news. They plan to separate their ice cream brands, including Wall's, into a new, independent company. This change is expected to happen by the end of 2025. Other famous ice cream brands like Ben & Jerry's, Cornetto, Magnum, and Talenti will also be part of this new company.
Wall's Ice Cream Products
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Wall's is a very important part of Unilever's worldwide ice cream plan, known as the Heartbrand strategy. This means that while Wall's keeps its local name in the UK, it shares the same heart-shaped logo and many of the same ice cream products with other Heartbrand companies around the world.
Wall's is a leader in the UK for single ice cream treats like Cornetto and Magnum. They also make larger ice cream products like Viennetta that families can enjoy at home.
Wall's is a big player in the global ice cream market. Two of its brands are even among the top ten worldwide! Under the Heartbrand logo, they make 40 different brands across 52 countries.
In 2013, Wall's started making chocolate bars based on their popular ice cream flavors, like Magnum, Cornetto, and Mini Milk. These chocolate bars are sold in shops and don't need to be kept frozen. In 2017, Wall's also started selling Magnum Ice Cream Tubs, which are larger tubs of their popular Magnum ice cream.
In 2022, Wall's launched in Canada with some unique, Asian-inspired flavors. These included bubble tea and ube (a purple yam). These specific flavors aren't sold under the Wall's brand in the UK. Instead, they use the global recognition of the Heartbrand logo to introduce new tastes in different countries. In Canada, Unilever mostly uses the Breyers brand for its main ice cream range.
See also
In Spanish: Heartbrand para niños
