Are Breyers and Dreyer’s Related?

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History and Ownership

  • Henry Breyer founded Breyers in 1866, which was later acquired by Unilever in 1993.
  • William Dreyer and Joseph Edy co-founded Dreyer’s in 1928, which is now owned by Nestle.

Company Details

  • Breyers started on the east coast, Dreyer’s on the west coast.
  • Dreyer’s adopted Edy’s as their brand name east of the Rockies, but Breyers did not reciprocate.

Acquisition and Sale

  • Nestle acquired Dreyer’s in 2002 for $3.2 billion.
  • In December 2019, Nestle sold Dreyer’s, Häagen-Dazs, and Drumstick to Froneri.

Ice Cream Details

  • Breyers changed its product from all-natural ice cream to "frozen dairy dessert."
  • Dreyer’s ice cream is still owned by Nestle and remains ice cream.

Vanilla Ice Cream

  • Top store-bought vanilla ice creams: Haagen-Dazs, Van Leeuwen, Ben & Jerry’s, Talenti, Turkey Hill, Breyers, Jeni’s Splendid, Edy’s, Friendly’s, and Häagen-Dazs.

Concerns and Market Share

  • Some concerns arose regarding Nestle’s 2002 merger with Dreyer’s, fearing a 97% concentration of superpremium ice cream.
  • However, the merger was perceived favorably in the total supermarket ice cream market, where it held a 22% share.

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