Frusen Glädjé
Encyclopedia
Frusen Glädjé was a company that made ice cream
for the U.S. market. It was founded in 1980 by Richard Smith
. Although the ice cream was made in the United States of America, it used a quasi-Swedish
name and packaging of "Frusen Glädjé" (Swedish for "frozen joy" or "frozen delight", although the correct Swedish spelling would be "Frusen glädje", without the acute accent
).
Erhard Sommer was the president of Frusen Glädjé.
It was produced at a Dairy Lea plant with special equipment and sold in 10 states in 1981, including New York and California. Marketing materials said The ice cream that appeals to the sybaritic buyer with a taste for the very finest. Television commercials typically featured the catch phrase, "I ate all the Frusen Glädjé." Frusen Glädjé was available in eight flavors (15 in the New York shop). Frusen Glädjé was distributed in every state by the end of 1982, reaching an annual production of 30 million pints, up from 18 million in 1981.
Another ice cream producer, Häagen-Dazs
, sued unsuccessfully in 1980 to stop them from using a "Scandinavian marketing theme". Häagen-Dazs's complaints included Frusen Glädjé's "prominently displayed list of the product's natural ingredients, a list of artificial ingredients not found in the ice cream, directions for serving and eating the ice cream (essentially that it was best served soft), and a map of Scandinavia." The court ruled against Häagen-Dazs on the grounds of unclean hands
, as Häagen-Dazs had similarly marketed itself as Scandinavian without having any connection to the region.
In 1985, Smith sold Frusen Glädjé to Kraft General Foods
. A Kraft spokeswoman states that Kraft sold its Frusen Glädjé license to the Unilever
corporation in 1993. A spokesman for Unilever claims that Frusen Glädjé was not part of the deal. The brand has since disappeared.
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
for the U.S. market. It was founded in 1980 by Richard Smith
Richard Smith
Richard Smith may refer to:* Richard Smyth , also written Richard Smith, English Catholic scholar* Richard Smith , English Catholic Bishop, titular of Chalcedon in Asia Minor...
. Although the ice cream was made in the United States of America, it used a quasi-Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
name and packaging of "Frusen Glädjé" (Swedish for "frozen joy" or "frozen delight", although the correct Swedish spelling would be "Frusen glädje", without the acute accent
Acute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
).
Erhard Sommer was the president of Frusen Glädjé.
It was produced at a Dairy Lea plant with special equipment and sold in 10 states in 1981, including New York and California. Marketing materials said The ice cream that appeals to the sybaritic buyer with a taste for the very finest. Television commercials typically featured the catch phrase, "I ate all the Frusen Glädjé." Frusen Glädjé was available in eight flavors (15 in the New York shop). Frusen Glädjé was distributed in every state by the end of 1982, reaching an annual production of 30 million pints, up from 18 million in 1981.
Another ice cream producer, Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs is a brand of ice cream, established by Jewish-Polish immigrants Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976...
, sued unsuccessfully in 1980 to stop them from using a "Scandinavian marketing theme". Häagen-Dazs's complaints included Frusen Glädjé's "prominently displayed list of the product's natural ingredients, a list of artificial ingredients not found in the ice cream, directions for serving and eating the ice cream (essentially that it was best served soft), and a map of Scandinavia." The court ruled against Häagen-Dazs on the grounds of unclean hands
Unclean hands
Unclean hands, sometimes called the clean hands doctrine or the dirty hands doctrine, is an equitable defense in which the defendant argues that the plaintiff is not entitled to obtain an equitable remedy on account of the fact that the plaintiff is acting unethically or has acted in bad faith with...
, as Häagen-Dazs had similarly marketed itself as Scandinavian without having any connection to the region.
In 1985, Smith sold Frusen Glädjé to Kraft General Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
. A Kraft spokeswoman states that Kraft sold its Frusen Glädjé license to the 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....
corporation in 1993. A spokesman for Unilever claims that Frusen Glädjé was not part of the deal. The brand has since disappeared.
In popular culture
- Shown in the 1989 movie Rude AwakeningRude Awakening (1989 film)Rude Awakening is a 1989 comedy film directed by David Greenwalt and Aaron Russo.-Plot:In 1969 New York City, two hippies, Fred Wook and Jesus Monteya, flee the US to avoid arrest by the FBI and hide out in the jungles of Central America...
. - Mentioned in the 1987 book Over the EdgeAlex DelawareAlex Delaware is a literary character created by Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with When the Bough Breaks, published in 1985. Delaware appears in 23 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kellerman sets the series in Los Angeles...
. - Mentioned in the 1991 book American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
.