EVERY generation seemingly has its own ice cream. Francesco Bedusa converted an ambulance to sell his Mr Whippy in the 1950s. His signature chime was Greensleeves. Walls countered with the iconic play on O Sole Mio advert. Walls has since been bought by Uniliver who also bought Mr Whippy. Corporate raiders like a brand. Walls […]
EVERY generation seemingly has its own ice cream.
Francesco Bedusa converted an ambulance to sell his Mr Whippy in the 1950s. His signature chime was Greensleeves. Walls countered with the iconic play on O Sole Mio advert.
Walls has since been bought by Uniliver who also bought Mr Whippy. Corporate raiders like a brand. Walls has surprisingly long history tracing back to a butcher Richard Watt in St James Market in 1786 who was looking for a product to sell in the summer when meat sales were slow. It was bought in 1922 by Lever Brothers – the former incarnation of Unilver who also bought Mr Whippy franchise in 1966. Back stage it is the corporates who move the brands. Lyons, originally a spin off from the London tea rooms in 1925 and now a co-venture with Nestle, as is Haagen Daz owned by Pillsbury, the dough man (sic) who are owsned by General Mills.
The short lived Dayvilles in the 1970s offered 32 flavours compared to Baskin Robbins who only had 31. Ben & Jerry’s is also a Uniliver brand. The latest to fall from independence is Grom – first started in 2005 in Turin – recently acquired by Unilver (again). Then we have Hackney Gelato founded by Enrico Pavoncelli and Sam Newman, who were working for Giorgio Locatelli and transferred their Sicilian grandmother’s recipes into something late night clubbers might like as Hackney Licks. They have enough venture capital behind them to head off to Dubai.
The newer generation take their inspiration from Italy, or even Sicily, rather than America.
