What Happened to Breyer’s Ice Cream

There are some things in life that we all depend on over time. First the chocolate companies were talked into smaller sizes by Michelle Obama and now Breyer’s doesn’t even say “ice cream” on the carton. What next, rice crispy treats without marshmallow?

I was really looking forward to some cake and ice cream for dessert tonight and my favorite local restaurant, Red Table, only had chocolate and red velvet cakes available. Since I gave up chocolate for lent, both of those were out. My wife swears Red Velvet (or Hummingbird) cake has chocolate.

After dinner we stopped at the local market on the way home and I was pleasantly surprised to see Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla flavor in the front section of the dessert freezer. Cherry Vanilla isn’t always available, so when I see it I usually grab two or three cartons. It is (or was) my favorite flavor.

This time I got home and quickly noticed the carton had changed. The “all natural” label was gone and the carton was a little smaller. I scooped up a little for my wife and I and headed in to find out who got carried off of Survivor with a stretcher.

I also picked up some cinnamon coffee cake (no chocolate) and less than two bites into it, my wife said “This tastes funny.” I was thinking it was just me. For the first time in my life, I didn’t finish my desert. I have never missed an opportunity to eat ice cream. My family jokes that our blood is 5% wine, 10% ice cream.

I grabbed the Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla carton and noticed that it wasn’t even called “ice cream” any more. It was “Vanilla Flavor with Cherry Pieces Frozen Dairy Dessert”.

The Former Favorite Dessert - Breyer's Cherry Vanilla - Now Gone
Another Product Killed by Big Food Companies

What the heck is “Frozen Dairy Dessert.” anyway. I don’t know what it is, but I can tell you what it isn’t. It isn’t “Ice Cream” and it isn’t good either.

I reached out to Breyer’s. It turned out they were owned by a big conglomerate that was more than happy to send me coupons for more “frozen dairy desert”. The person on the phone was very nice and said “We really didn’t change anything.” When I asked about the carton size she said “Well that we did change to lower shipping costs”. I don’t know where she went to business school but doesn’t less stuff in the carton lower ALL of the costs? I pay the same and get less?

Out shopping for food today you have to read every label on every product no matter how long you have been a fan? Is that what the world is coming too? I have to read the labels on my favorite desserts to find out if it is what I expect?

Welcome to the new economy, inflation is here, and the big companies are hiding it by lowering quality and in this case quantity. Wal-Mart was probably the first to be caught nearly 20 years ago when they were ordering clothes in a narrower cut to reduce costs. Today everyone is doing it.

Inflation in China, is happening wether we like it or not. Since a majority of our consumer products are made in China that means our costs are going up.

Oil is going up so that means that all goods no matter where they are made cost more to get to the store.

No matter how you look at it, you are paying more to get less every day, don’t let the government fool you. Maybe the only way to get great ice cream at home is to turn back the clock fifty years and make it yourself.

89 comments

  1. I totally noticed this tonight too! I bought a carton of Breyers cherry vanilla ice cream (what I thought was ice cream) and noticed that it says “Frozen Dairy Dessert” on the carton now! It also tastes terrible now. I looked on the Breyers website and it still shows Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream as a product. I do not even see a Cherry Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert product on the Breyers website.

  2. Went to my beach corner ice cream store for two cherry vanilla sundaes with all the fixings and was told Breyers has dropped the large 3 gal. tub from their line. Since this is the only size the vendor uses, he can no longer offer cherry vanilla as an option. Maybe it’s time to start making more sundaes at home, but with another brand.

  3. I noticed the same thing this week, not only with Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla, but also with Breyer’s Cookies and Cream. The quality and the flavor are very poor compared to the last time I purchased Breyer’s. It’s not ice cream and I won’t buy it again.

  4. breyers hasnt been the same since they moved their plant from 48th street in west philadelphia and unilever took over. the quality has been going down hill for years now its at an all time low. i just noticed myself the “dairy desert” bs on the carton and the vanilla which used to be .. just milk cream and sugar has some kind of tara gum in it. before when the ice cream melted it was a liquid now its just a goey mess. going to be buying blue bunny and turkey hill from now on

  5. I fell victim to the Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert today in northern California. It used to be my favorite flavor and as my local store didn’t carry it, I would sometimes drive 20 miles to get it. No more! There’s no reason to, because it doesn’t taste anything like the All Natural Cherry Vanilla of times past. I don’t see how this kind of cost-cutting can work when all it does is drive away customers. Breyer’s was always a premium brand to begin with, and there’s no way I’m going to pay premium prices for this crap.

  6. It is becoming clear that the “Wal-Mart” mentality is running rampant among U.S. Corporations. This is just one case we have found that is blatant. It has been known for years that Wal-Mart requests specially produced lower priced products so they can have the lowest floor “price” because people price shop everything. Most people have been getting fooled so long, they can’t tell that stuff costs more and inflation is here because Wal-Mart just keeps lowering the quality so the price looks the same.

    I don’t think Unilevers Frozen Desert sales will decrease enough for them to notice or care. For those of us that did, Breyer’s is just another great brand killed by “progress”. Thank you for the comments, now off to Ben and Jerry’s before their corporate owners start selling frozen dairy dessert too! We don’t have Blue Bunny anywhere here at the beach that I have seen, but I’ll keep a lookout.

  7. I was at Target yesterday (where Breyer’s is the cheapest in my area unless a supermarket has it on sale) and I instantly noticed that “All Natural” was gone from the carton as was “Ice Cream.” They did have one carton of chocolate chip that must have been from older stock because it still said “Ice Cream” and “All Natural.” This development must have occurred in the past couple of weeks because I am very aware of the changes Unilever has been sneaking in, from two reductions in the size of the carton to the addition of ingredients. This is the last stray. No more Breyer’s in our house.

    I also noticed that “Frozen Dairy Dessert” was now what the product was. I expect that they reduced the amount of milk or cream to the point where they are no longer allowed to call it ice cream, and the addition of synthetic ingredients forced them to remove “All Natural.”

    What a shame to see a high quality product be destroyed.

  8. From looking at various cartons in various stores, it appears that certain flavors no longer qualify as ice cream. Cherry Vanilla and Rocky Road are now “Frozen Dairy Dessert.”

    It’s unclear which of the USDA requirements for “ice cream” these flavors no longer meet. It could be the percentage of milk fat, or more likely it’s the minimum density (weight per unit volume) with more air whipped in. Just from looking at the ingredients it’s hard to say. I noticed that “cream” is further down the list of ingredients for the frozen dairy dessert flavors.

    Of course none of it is “All Natural” any more.

    I tried some Blue Bunny the other day. The Pistachio-Almond was very good. Still 1.75 quarts too. My daughter said that the Mint Chocolate Chip wasn’t as good as the Pistachio Almond.

    It’s sad to see a large multi-national company destroy an iconic brand like Breyers. But nothing is stopping someone else from introducing a replacement that is more like the old Breyers.

  9. bad enough they shrunk the package, bad enough they whipped air in it, bad enough the grocer can’t keep it rock solid, but THIS is the last straw. I’m NOT gonna pay a lot for this muffler! I’m out. Turkey Hill- black label ONLY. Only 4 flavors, vanilla, chocolate, REAL cherry vanilla and coffee [sometimes]. good cows, none of that artificial **** added. knock breyers out the park. too bad, so sad. breyers has ****** up this time for good. you can fool my eyes, but like your wife, you can’t fool my tongue. Ain’t never buying that trash again. keep the change. I’m out.

  10. breyer’s ice cream was the best on the planet. their butter almond was to die for. last night i purchased butter pecan. it was not edible. tasted disgusting and the consistency was like melted plastic. i tried to eat it for desert, as i paid money for it, but it was too nauseating and i had to throw it out. i never ever throw out food. this breyer’s bears no relationship whatsoever to the real original. unilever took the iconic name and put it on this garbage. i will never buy it again.

  11. We purchased breyers butter pecan “ice cream” tonight. Wow, what crap. if you closed your eyes & tasted it, you wouldnt even know what you wete tasting. It had no taste at all. didnt resemble any butter pecan ice cream weve ever tasted before. Typical corporate america…buy a company because they produce a premium quality product & then cheapen it to cut costs so bigger bonuses can get paid out & at the same ti,e, deceive your customers. you just lost another customer, Way to go Unilever.

  12. I, too, thought that Breyers All-Natural Butter Pecan Ice Cream was the best on the planet. Last night I ate some and became suspicious. A look at the container revealed all the unnatural, gummy extra ingredients and the “Frozen Dairy Dessert” nonsense. It’s now just like all the other gummy brands and not worth buying. I’ve lost a major treat and Unilever has lost a customer!

  13. This new frozen dairy desert is horrible. I always enjoyed Breyers ice cream and liked the idea that it was all natural. There is nothing natural about it anymore. I will never buy Breyers again

  14. I rarely buy ice cream but when I do it is Schwans. I’ll check their label next time. Thanks for the info on Breyers. Never, for sure.

  15. Let us know please, so we can tell what is good and what is bad. We just learned about Ben & Jerrys Greek Yogurt here at Beach Street News, twice the protein of regular ice cream, half the cholesterol. It tastes pretty good. A little expensive though.

  16. i have read the inquiries( insults) on some of your products. absolutely true! OMG butter pecan frozen dairy dessert- are you kidding me??? like cool whip frozen dairy product-not real whipped cream. we are ice cream fanatics and soooo disappointed in this, first ,the reduction of 1/2 gallon ice cream containers, now 1.75 quarts , then , frozen dairy dessert,where your butter pecan ice cream was always #1 since childhood–shame on you BREYERS!!!!:( guess you wouldn’t mind us paying with monopoly money, then, heh? sorry!

  17. For the last couple of months I noticed that the Bryers was not solid hard in the carton. I thought that the stores had raised their freezer temps to save money. When I got it home and put it in my own freezer (which I keep at 4 degrees below zero), it still would not harden like their ice cream used to. The taste that I have been used to for over twenty years was gone. I actually threw away two cartons that were inedible. The last one I bought, a few days ago, tasted so awful that I had to put milk with it and use it for milk shake (which also was lacking in its old taste.) THEN I noticed the carton said “Frozen Dairy Dessert” !! I started an internet search to see what had become of my beloved Breyers…and discovered what the rest of you had already discovered…as evidenced by these comments. GOOD BY BRYERS FOR ME TOO.

  18. I’m saying GOODBYE to breyers too! Yulk!!! I purchased the butter pecan because I was in the mood for some dessert and discovered that horrible taste. Low and behold to my surprise the carton didnt say all natural anymore. When I read that label I was so mad that I didnt go with my first instinct and buy ben and jerry’s. Never again will I buy that mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  19. Add me to the list of people whom loved the all natural Breyers Cherry Vanilla flavor when it was all natural and when it was ice cream. It’s now horrid. From what I understand, the percentage of milk or cream in the product isn’t high enough for it to qualify as ice cream now, thus the “frozen dairy dessert” label.

    Well, I’m going to be trying various regional products now to see if I can find a good replacement. I think Tillamook has a cherry or cherry vanilla flavor for instance. Hopefully it’s a decent substitute.

  20. We have found many of the flavors at Trader Joes to be of good quality, and real ice cream, Blue Bunny in Texas is a favorite we have heard about. If you find something else please come back and let everyone know – ed

  21. I’ve been evangelizing Breyers for 20 years. I just finished a bowl of their “frozen dairy dessert”. They seem to be phasing out the “ice cream” and phasing in this new recipe one flavor at a time. I actually googled for “Breyers is dead” to get here. The problem with the other suggested brands like Blue Bunny and Trader Joe’s is that those both use gum thickeners. The only major brand I know of that doesn’t use gum thickeners (other than the old Breyers before Unilever started driving it into the ground) is Haagen-Dazs. It doesn’t have the same fluffy texture of the original Breyers, but to me it’s the best thing on the market now.

  22. We hadn’t thought about the gum thickeners, great stuff thank you! Keep it coming, there has to be more natural ice cream out there.

  23. I have spent years overseas promoting Breyers over the usual crap ice cream we get here. I noticed when we went home the vanilla had some gum in it, but I didn’t think it was that bad in comparison. Blue Bunny is no better; they use gums and corn syrup expect for the all natural vanilla. All natural Turkey Hill for me from now on.

  24. I have been a Breyers ice cream lover for over 40 years. I am choosey about what I feed my family and have always loved their commitment to purity. I was craving Butter Pecan one of my all time favorites. When we started eating it I immediately knew something was not right. I first read the ingredients(not pure anymore) and then read the label frozen dairy dessert. Who is this new company Unilever? Do the not realize who their customers are? We love our ICE CREAM and we like it made with REAL ingredients. No more Breyers!!!! So sad. 🙁

  25. I had to break the news by telephone to my 70 year old father. I asked him if he was sitting down first.

  26. Usually I eat Breyers chocolate ice cream(which is still real ice cream i think) but decided to eat some of the Breyers Blasts Oreo. I had no idea they changed some of their flavors until then. It tasted disgusting and then I noticed it was a “frozen dairy dessert.” Will definetly not be buying that again.

  27. Another enraged former Breyers fan here. I’m so disappointed. I guess I should be thanking them for saving my waistline, though, because I won’t be eating their ice cream anymore, and Breyers was the only kind I used to eat.

  28. Welcome to Obamas America, if he gets reelected you will be wishing to go back to the days when you could afford to buy Breyers frozen dairy dessert. Wake up people!

  29. Ugh – another extremely unhappy customer. Unilever has RUINED the Breyers brand with their lowest common denominator recipe. Rest assured I will not be buying Breyers ever again!

  30. I tried the cherry vanilla frozen dairy dessert tonight for the first time after years of Breyers Ice Cream.The stuff was virtually inedible and tasted like cough syrup. How can you do this to us Unilever? You’ve destroyed the reputation of a one fine product. No more Breyers for me.

  31. Normally we wouldn’t let this comment past the screeners, but we just watched Atlas Shrugged and people do need to understand that “leveling the playing field” doesn’t work. People only become champions because they get something for it. There needs to be a carrot for being the best as long as you are the best fairly. – Da Ed.

  32. I, long ago, noticed the change to Breyers (they started these changes in 2006). I also thought that it had simply been thawed, and then refrozen, but after a three or four half gallons, I noticed they had changed the ingredients.

    I called them, and spoke to a lot of people, including upper management, and they gave me that same BS party line about shipping it, thawing, and consistency. Let’s face it, there is one reason they made the change: MONEY. The crap they put out now is simply cheaper.

    It is not the same as original Breyers, but I now buy only Häagen-Dazs, as it was the ONLY product I could find that did not have any additives.

    I would urge you all not to buy Ben & Jerry’s, or Good Humor, which are also both owned by Unilever.

  33. A great treat for me has always been Breyers peach ice cream. No more. I must have missed the annoument that Breyers sells frozen dairy dessert. Why? They had a superior product that they have ruined! The texture and taste are gone. The Breyers website assures me that they still use milk and cream. If so they need to change suppliers.

    Also,they sell full size half gallons in Canada but 1 1/2 quart packages in the US.

    Someone needs to fire the marketing department.

  34. You should go back to making ice cream as what you are making is absolutely tasteless and terrible. I threw away a peach Iced Dessert and a Black Cherry one as they were awful. You charge the most and have the worst “ice Cream” around. Don’t think you’ll stay in business very much longer with this terrible product.

  35. I just bought the vanilla today too. Horrible, most horrible ice cream I have ever eaten. I used to love the Breyer’s vanilla with those vanilla beans in it! This not only tasted like plastic but it has such a bad bad aftertaste, you can’t get rid of the aftertaste. Quite honestly, I feel like I just ate a bunch of chemicals. I would have been more than happy to pay more for the original product. I had to throw the whole carton in the garbage.

  36. I tried to leave a comment with Breyers by going to their website, but surprise surprise, that page to find out how to contact them is not working right now. Gee, I wonder why. Maybe because everyone hates the crappy ice milk dairy air product? I hadn’t bought it for awhile, trying to lose weight, so it took me awhile to buy a box, try it, and then notice there was something very wrong. No more Breyers, ever. I’d rather buy any other product that isn’t dishonest like this new company. But really, it will probably be haagen dasz or some other quality product at our house.

  37. Very sad…. I know it is just ice cream, but Breyer’s used to be a quality product you could always count on tasting great and enjoy eating

    Will break out the old hand crank ice cream maker.

  38. I really f**king hate this. I used to Love the ice cream until i unknowingly opened up a box of this synthetic sh*t. Of course i had to taste it. What Crap. Everyone please, buy American and support your local companies, but not the ones that make dog sh*t ice cream

  39. Once I noticed the difference in the consistency of the cherry vanilla (Breyers) I read other labels and find that most major brands are also adding more cheapening agents to their recipes. I still found an honest to goodness simple Breyer’s unadulterated vanilla
    but it tastes flat because they’ve cut way back on the vanilla bean fragments. So not only do they put it in smaller packages but they change the quality of taste and mess with their other brands. I think I’ll take out my ice cream maker that I haven’t used in years.

  40. So relieved that I googled ” what’s wrong with Breyers Ice Cream” – cause my family all thought we had a problem with our taste buds. We thought it was something odd about the mint choc. chip, then the cherry van, and now the vanilla fudge- all 3 left a slimy coating on our tongues- like Turkey Hill ice cream. Have to switch to Ben & Jerrys now. So disappointing about Breyers. Along with the slimy tongue coating it leaves – it has no taste !

  41. Unbelievable! Doesn’t the company realize that MANY of their customers buy their product because it’s one of the few natural ones on the market? And now they will lose all of those customers because they are making junk just like every other ice cream/dairy dessert company?
    I was a dedicated consumer…not any longer.

  42. Yes.. the ice cream has TOTALLY CHANGED! We used to love Cherry Vanilla, then were disappointed. The last hold was Butter Pecan. Bought some tonight, could not even finish a 1/2 cup portion. It was TERRIBLE.. gummy and sticky.

    We rarely eat ice cream. Yes, would love to eat it every day! When we do, it should be good, or why bother?

    WOW! What a shame.. BREYERS.. YOU LOST US!

  43. I discovered this change, today, after buying two containers, which were on special. I am thrilled with the change!!!!! Breyer’s Butter Almond and Cherry Vanilla have always been irresistible, so I rarely bought them. Now that they’ve been changed into frozen vomit, I’ll have no problem with ever being tempted again!

  44. Breyers chocolate chip was my favorite– operative word “was.”
    What marketing genius decided to take Breyers all natural ice cream and make it into neither all natural, nor ice cream?
    This is the STOOOOPIDEST

  45. Breyers chocolate chip was my favorite– operative word “was.”
    What marketing genius decided to take Breyers all natural ice cream and make it into neither all natural, nor ice cream? Did they simply tear up their Mission Statement?
    This is the STOOOOPIDEST marketing move since “New Coke.”
    Please, I hope every one of y’all write to Breyers with your complaints. If enough people complain about it and stop buying it, they may change it back– it’s happened before.

  46. Just threw out the remains of my Breyers Cherry Vanila whatever the hell it is UGHH!!! Who made the decision to ruin a brand? I’m mystified.

  47. Sadly we discovered the change today. . .last night my husband tried the Butter Pecan I purchased a few days ago and said it tasted off!! I tried it today and he is right!!! Looked at the container and it now reads “Frozen Dairy Dessert”. It is AWFUL!!! Will not purchase this garbage EVER again. TERRIBLE!!!! How dumb are the executives who decide to make these changes??? Nothing like losing all of your loyal customers Breyers. . .did you really think we would buy this trash????

  48. My husband and I were so excited about our Breyers ice cream. We splurged on it because we knew it would be delicious. Imagine our disappointment when we tasted the stuff. The Oreo Cookie was awful. It was so bad that I called the hotline on the box. I was told I bought “frozen dairy desert” and given coupons to buy more. We specifically bought ice cream with the coupon but it too was terrible. We’ll never buy Breyers again.

  49. I also purchased Cherry Vanilla about two months ago and threw it out after one serving. Yesterday without thinking I purchased a carton of Butter Pecan. Upon tasting it I instantly remembered the Cherry Vanilla. This in my opinion is one big no brainer. How could any company with a product that has a reputation like Breyers change a recipe that has worked for almost 150 years. I just got off the phone with a CSR and she informed me that different consumers have different tastes and that she would pass my comments along. After reading the comments here I am happy to see that I am not the only one.

  50. Really annoyed that it took us as long as it did to realize we had been hoodwinked by Breyers. We then realized that it began with the change in the carton size. Oh, how we longed for those Shop Rite summer sales when ice cream prices were reduced and we could get two cartons for five bucks. Now we wouldn’t give five cents for the bastardized “frozen dessert” being passed off as Natural Ice Cream! Too bad we missed the class action suit. Perhaps another suit should be filed. In the contextof William Wordswoth, I would suggest that Breyers has given its heart away. What a pity!

  51. Like everyone else, I ate Bryers for years! Totally loved the chocolate chip among other favors!
    Do their corp people ever read this stuff? They spent tons of money on their highly effective commercials with the child reading the label. That same commercial now makes it easy to recognize how radically the product has changed!! The product is destroyed…I am finished with Bryers!! Perhaps the company was bought for the purpose of a tax write off? Mission accomplished! It only cost less than $3 last time and it felt like a rip off. 50 cents for the current product is too much!! It is a LOSER now! Wow! great job Bryers!!

  52. First time I noticed it this week as I was trying to eat what I thought was Breyers Ice Cream. Well after the 2nd spoonful I began looking and reading. It was a Great Product and again there goes the Pledge of Purity and now Glop like the others. If you live in the greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area we still have Turkey Hill “black container” which is all natural and was from the start more creamy than Breyers. Now Breyers is like all the other also rans and can perform the plastic straw and maybe even the pencil test. Take a cup of Breyers and stick a plastic straw in it and leave it out all night. Next morning that straw will still be standing upright held in place by all that GLOP. Who knows it was such a favorite for so many years and if enough people stop buying it maybe we will see it again or Unilever selling it to a company that wants to be in the Ice Cream business.

  53. I purchased one of Breyers fancier flavors several months ago only to find it was one of their Frozen Dairy Desserts! It was absolutely disgusting! Last week my daughter asked me to bring some chocolate chip ice cream home. When I picked up the container of Breyers chocolate chip I found it too was labeled Frozen Dairy Dessert!!! I noticed almost all of the regular Breyers flavors are no longer ice cream!!! What a sad state of affairs when you can no longer pick up your favorite flavors from childhood. I’m boycotting Breyers!!

  54. A list of brands likely debased by the UK-based multinational Unilever: https://www.unileverusa.com/brands-in-action/view-brands.aspx.

    Probably should avoid them all if you don’t like unpleasant surprises.

    I still remember the first time I ever tried Breyers – it was blueberry, back in 1971 or 1972. It was SO good but I was a poor student at the time. It and the original Columbo yogurt were two treats with which I would supplement my otherwise Spartan diet. Both are long gone now, alas!

    A few years later I spent a year in the UK, and I remember how spectacularly bad Walls ice cream was. Yep, a Unilever product.

  55. Tonight my wife asked if I would like some ice cream…I had been noticing the Breyers we were getting was not the same…googled “what happened to Breyers”.. End of my Breyers years after reading all the comments that told the true story…what a disaster to end a product with sub quality ingredients…goodbye forever old friend!

  56. Just Discovered that Breyers Ice Cream with the exception of their vanilla has gone by the wayside for all natural ingredients….now using chemicals and calling it frozen dessert………just like my “Tasty Kakes”…..can’t eat either one….and will not buy Breyers Ice again after being a 30 plus year customer…..moving on to a company that produces natural ice cream less the chemicals….I hope the CEOs and CFOs and their children and grandchildren enjoy eating the chemical “Frozen Desert”…..Amen…and may God have mercy on your souls

  57. Sadly they probably don’t let their kids and grand kids eat what they sell. They make enough money to buy real food at Whole Foods.

    – Ed

  58. Two bites in, and I knew something was wrong. They shouldln’t even call it Breyers anymore- I find it foul and putrid. They had such a great thing going for them until Unilever got ahold of it.

  59. Same here. I saw Breyer’s Butter Almond and was ecstatic. I hadn’t seen it around in years and years. Bought a carton and and settled in for a treat. It was awful. I thought it was my memory that was at fault. Turns out it was ICE CREAM I was remembering and “frozen dairy dessert” that I got.
    Goodbye Breyers.

  60. I work in a grocery store..and had to begin looking up info online about ice cream vs non dairy dessert etc. because of customers returning ice creams saying they were bad and noticing this over a year ago beginning. It’s not JUST one company and it is yet another sign of economical cuts..from half gallons, to 1.75 to 1.50 for most in size for ice cream (barring blue belle as onlyhalf gallons I know of and blue bunny as one of the few 1.75 size) to less cream in the ice cream making it “dairy desserts”.

  61. of course times change and so do formulas..for good or bad..what about the days when Coca Cola was a wagon carried cure al remedy with coke in it..(and not the soda kind)? How many people still what that old formula? lol

  62. Just purchased and tried to eat Breyers ice cream (rocky road). I rarely return food to the grocery store but this and another carton of Breyers will go back! I just want to make the point that this is crap– I’ve been a loyal Breyers customer for years, because they did not use guar gum in their recipe, WTF? Unilever is stupid.

  63. How disappointing! I will never buy Breyers again – it’s no longer ‘all natural’ and isn’t even ice cream, it’s frozen dairy dessert (same thing as cool whip).

    totally disgusting.

  64. I used to buy Breyers all the time but started buying Brighams recently. I had no idea Breyers had changed. Other than the box changing and shrinking I didnt think to check and see if the product had. so I bought some chocolate chip (I wanted mint chip bug grabbed the wrong carton). As soon as I tasted it I knew something was wrong. I took a look at the ingredients and it was a whole new formula. No longer all natural. AND THEN I SEE ITS NOT EVEN ICE CREAM ANYMORE!!! UNACCEPTABLE! Will not be buying this “frozen Dairy Dessert” again. Back to Brighams. I don’t know if its globalization or what but Unilevef has ruined 2 of my favorite things now the other is Pears Soap.

  65. I too noticed something was not right last year when buying a carton of Cherry Vanilla. I took the first bite and almost spit it out. The taste was slimy, warm, and with a chemical aftertaste. I looked at the label and saw that the product was a “frozen dessert” loaded with artificial chemicals.

    Unilever MURDERED the Breyers brand which has been iconic for over a century.

    What we can hope for is that their sales fall so low that Unilever will want to sell the brand off, hopefully to a company that wants to carry on the legacy of what Breyers was actually all about, VERY FEW, ALL NATURAL, HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS.

    Come on Unilever sell the Breyers brand, you have completely damaged the company the way you have chosen to operate it.

  66. What happened to Pears Soap? What did you do to replace it? I am a fan of Doctor Bohners, but the price keeps going up as people discover it.

    – Ed

  67. i was thinking the other night on how ice cream has changed in the last couple yrs, and for the worse….i was really irritated when they went from 1/2 gals….and stop buying anything that was not a 1/2 gal..that just left me costco and blue bell, which are good ice creams, great if you compare them to what is out there today….i had a frys close to me, and i could tolerate the 1 gal vanillia they had, until about 2 weeks ago..i brought it home , opened the container, and noticed how much white in color it looked…oh well, i scooped up some and began to eat it…what happen…it tasted like plastic….i went to the store and asked an employee about it…they did not no…..but that is an example of what is going on today…..i am only going to buy costco and blue bell….for those that noticed bryers has changed to a lot of there products is not ice cream…its own by large national corp, and has pretty much ruined breyers

  68. As soon as I got a rental car at the airport back east, I went to the nearest supermarket to pick up some Breyers butter almond ice cream. I was remembering the taste from my south Jersey childhood. One bite in, I thought what the heck is this? Then I looked at the package and noticed it wasn’t even ice cream. The rest went into the trash. Kraft owned Breyers for years after buying out Sealtest, but all they did was lower the butter fat content. What Unilever has done is an abomination.

  69. I noticed that more and more supermarkets are dropping Breyer’s. The supermarket I go to the most used to advertise Breyers in their weekly ad as “All Natural” long after Unilever wrecked the product, and I emailed them about it. Shortly after that they closed out their remaining stock and now it’s gone completely.

    Blue Bunny still offers their “All Natural Vanilla” which is excellent (they also offer other versions of vanilla which are not all natural). Their other flavors are not all natural but at least are still ice cream. In California, I have only seen Blue Bunny ice cream at Walmart, which is too bad.

  70. Still in mourning over the loss of Breyers Buttered Almond. It was my very favorite but the new “Dairy Dessert” is inedible. I wrote to the company and requested they come out with a classic ice cream line. I’d be willing to pay more. Or They could at least post the original recipe so I could make it myself…

  71. So sad what Breyers has done . After insisting on their brand for 50 years I have bought the last. If I want a frozen dessert………I will eat a Popsicle. At least I know what to expect.

  72. As vocal as I had been in singing Breyers’ praises, I am now (and have been for several years) slamming it with as much vehemence as I can muster. I do not understand why Kraft/Unilever would want to kill the golden goose with this abysmal product. Nor do I understand why Breyers would sell out without contractually guaranteeing that the quality would remain emblematic of the brand they labored so diligently to create and maintain. The Turkey Hill Natural is what Breyer’s used to be. Unless I’m so well heeled as to be able to afford HaagenDazs, Turkey Hill (NATURAL!!!) is it for me.

  73. Sadly, I’ve just discovered this despicable bait-and-switcheroo with these “ice cream” purveyors. I’ll be payin’ close attention now, as well, ‘cause I’m seein’ this gambit on canned whipped creams also. What a con job; no mas!!

  74. Now that we are making our own 4 ingredient ice cream in the studio testing out ice cream machines, we have learned that even just subtle changes like adding extra vanilla, or using cheap vanilla changes everything.

    Just like the gluten free pizza doughs we tested, everything matters. Since that video we have learned even more about pizza.

    With ice cream machines even little things like the temperature of the bowl and the machine make a difference. If the mixture is removed from the machine too early it has that weird fluffy texture we don’t like in some of the store bought ice creams. We also discovered that adding fruit whole is a bad idea, it gets frozen so you have strawberry or mango or whatever fruit sized ice cubes in your mouth. Adding fresh fruit puree is a good idea to make some great flavors. Warning! You need to remove the same ratios of milk cream and sugar or you overload the machine. We are planning to get a video on CoolToysTV.com soon.

  75. The peach. They got to the peach. Peach frozen dairy desert. If you take a high quality, delicious product and reduce it down to a level of bland, well that is what has happened here. Clearly the product will still sell. But not as much. If you are selling train loads. Then decide to alter the product to a level that it goes from ice cream to frozen dairy product. Then it will sell truck loads. Small tiny trucks with three tires, But truck loads none the less. I guess there is more profit in selling smaller quantities a year of a cheaper product. Than selling a product of quality like we had in huge amounts. I need to go back to school.

  76. Sadly most people would take a lower quality product if the price is a little lower. Unilever has this down to a science. You can thank Wal Mart for pushing that business practice to the limit. I personally only have glass storage with silcone lids. We try and avoid the low budget fake tupperware style containers that line sell for pennies at Wal-Mart, Target and IKEA. The good news with Ice Cream is that when one brand lets you down there is another high quality product out there. Here at BeachStreetNews, we have found that Tillamook out of Oregon makes a great ice cream. We are very happy with the cherry when it is available.

  77. In my house growing up, my parents stuck pretty much to buying ice-cream only from the Sealtest brand. I’d always wanted the Breyer’s All Natural Vanilla, because at the time it was still so super-tasting, bracing, delicious and with a nice clean flavor. This was in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and that stuff was still really good. So when I got my first high school job and brought home my self-purchased gallon of Breyer’s Vanilla to store in our freezer, my mom just looked at me and I said, “It’s my money, and I wanted Breyer’s and so I bought it myself!” Flash forward, and put me in the club who has noticed the hard way–in my attempt to return to the old days by buying it more recently–who has found that its quality, taste and consistency stink now. 🙁

  78. Wow, comments from 2012 to 2020 at the moment, this thread has staying power. We too are an ice cream family in the NE. Every summer weekend includes at least one run to one of the many Ice Cream shops for a cone with Jimmies. Breyers has been dead to us for home consumption for a long time. It’s boggling how all those non-Natural ingredients are cheaper than just three. Hagen-daz is our go to. Why don’t they get, that ice cream is less about price, more about taste and ingredients. I don’t care if its on sale or not, I buy because I want it. I want the flavor and natural taste. Good luck to all on your search for the grail of core ingredients only. Scoop and enjoy!

  79. Thank you, and yes this is the number three most viewed post. I just figure that the big corporate U on the package explains the problem.

  80. Might I recommend Strauss. It’s absolutely fantastic, how breyers used to be. I buy it at my local Natural Grocers store.

  81. Wow after reading all the comments my questions and more were answered. I wondered where Breyers Almond Butter ice cream went. Do not see it on the shelves. I had once liked it. But I started
    to notice I did not feel well after eating it. Thank you all so much for your comments, greatly appreciative!

  82. Believe it or not, the Aldi Specially Selected ice cream does not have any gums in it as Breyers now has. It tastes like Haagan Dazs for about half the price. Make sure you get the black carton. Breyers is completely ruined now. It’s a shame.

  83. I agree. Unilever – the same conglomerate that brought us the obese models in their Dove commercials – has ruined the brand. It is inedible. It is a shame that a foreign company can buy up quality American companies – especially ones with a history like Breyers. I only wish the supermarkets would stop carrying it and make room for a quality competitor. Note: Unilever also has bought up Haagen-Daz and Ben and Jerry’s. It would be hard to ruin B&J’s but I hope they don’t destroy HD.

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