Dickie Dee
Encyclopedia
Dickie Dee Ice Cream was a Canadian ice cream vending company from 1959 to 2002. It was founded in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
in 1959 by the Barish
family and grew to be one of the largest ice cream vending companies in North America. At its peak, Dickie Dee had approximately 1500 operators across Canada and in the Northern United States. Ice cream products were sold out of a fiberglass compartment on a modified tricycle
. Dickie Dee also had a Fleet of ice cream trucks that operated in areas with hills that could not be serviced using the bicycles.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Dickie Dee promoted products at gas stations and retail outlets in freezers called "Bubble Cabinets". The Bubble Cabinets were chest-style display freezers with a clear plastic dome shaped lid, which allowed seeing the various products.
Dickie Dee maintained a network of distributors to operate its equipment. Distributors leased the equipment and purchased the products from designated company suppliers. Small distributorships were turnkey operations that could be run from a family garage while larger centres had warehouses and yards.
In 1992 Dickie Dee was sold to Unilever
and became a division of Good Humor-Breyers
. Good Humor-Breyers maintained the Dickie Dee Brand and Program until approximately 2002. Today much of the remaining equipment is privately owned by former distributors who are still selling ice cream products as independent operators under a variety of names.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
in 1959 by the Barish
Earl Barish
Earl Barish is a businessman from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His family developed the Dickie Dee ice cream brand.He was also behind the IBA team, the Winnipeg Cyclone....
family and grew to be one of the largest ice cream vending companies in North America. At its peak, Dickie Dee had approximately 1500 operators across Canada and in the Northern United States. Ice cream products were sold out of a fiberglass compartment on a modified tricycle
Tricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
. Dickie Dee also had a Fleet of ice cream trucks that operated in areas with hills that could not be serviced using the bicycles.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Dickie Dee promoted products at gas stations and retail outlets in freezers called "Bubble Cabinets". The Bubble Cabinets were chest-style display freezers with a clear plastic dome shaped lid, which allowed seeing the various products.
Dickie Dee maintained a network of distributors to operate its equipment. Distributors leased the equipment and purchased the products from designated company suppliers. Small distributorships were turnkey operations that could be run from a family garage while larger centres had warehouses and yards.
In 1992 Dickie Dee was sold to Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
and became a division of Good Humor-Breyers
Good Humor-Breyers
Good Humor-Breyers is a unit of Unilever that includes the formerly independent Good Humor, Breyers, Klondike Bar, and Popsicle brands. It was based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, now in New Jersey. It was formed by the merger of Good Humor and Breyers in 1993...
. Good Humor-Breyers maintained the Dickie Dee Brand and Program until approximately 2002. Today much of the remaining equipment is privately owned by former distributors who are still selling ice cream products as independent operators under a variety of names.