Edy's Pie
Ice cream bar
CurrentownerFroneri
OriginUnited States
Introduced1921
MarketsUnited States, International

Edy's Pie (formerly known as Eskimo Pie) is an American brand of chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil. It was the first such dessert sold in the United States. It is marketed by Dreyer's, a division of Froneri.

In wake of the George Floyd riots, the name was changed to Edy's Pie, in recognition of Dreyer's co-founder, candy maker Joseph Edy.[1] The former name used the term Eskimo, a term considered offensive by some for American Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples.[2]

History

Danish immigrant Christian Kent Nelson, a schoolteacher and candy store owner, claimed to have received the inspiration for the Eskimo Pie in 1920 in Onawa, Iowa, when a boy in his store was unable to decide whether to spend his money on ice cream or a chocolate bar.[3] After experimenting with different ways to adhere melted chocolate to bricks of ice cream, Nelson began selling his invention, under the name I-Scream Bars. In 1921, he filed for a patent, and secured an agreement with local chocolate producer Russell C. Stover to mass-produce them under the new trademarked name "Eskimo Pie" (a name suggested by his wife, Clara Stover), and to create the Eskimo Pie Corporation.[4] After was issued on January 24, 1922, Nelson franchised the product, allowing ice cream manufacturers to produce them under that name. The patent, which applied to any type of frozen confection encased in candy, was invalidated in 1928.[5]

Stover sold his share of the business. He then formed the well-known chocolate manufacturer Russell Stover Candies.[6] Nelson became independently wealthy off the royalties from the sale of Eskimo Pies. In 1922, he was selling one million pies a day.[5]

Nelson then sold his share of the business to the United States Foil Company, which made the Eskimo Pie wrappers. He retired at a young age,[clarification needed] but reportedly out of boredom rejoined what was then called Reynolds Metals Company (now part of Alcoa) in 1935, inventing new methods of manufacturing and shipping Eskimo Pies and serving as an executive until his ultimate retirement in 1961.

In 1992, Nelson died at the age of 99. In that same year, Eskimo Pie Corporation was spun off from Reynolds in an initial public offering, as an alternative to an acquisition that Nestlé had proposed in 1991.

The original round-faced child icon for the brand was created by the illustrator Gyo Fujikawa.[7]

CoolBrands International, a Markham, Ontario-based company, acquired Eskimo Pie Corporation in 2000. Originally a yogurt maker, CoolBrands at one point owned or held exclusive long-term licenses for brands including Eskimo Pie, Chipwich, Weight Watchers, Godiva, Tropicana, Betty Crocker, Trix, Yoo-hoo and Welch's. The company encountered financial difficulties after losing its Weight Watchers/Smart Ones license in 2004.[8] By 2007, it was selling off core assets and in February 2007 it sold Eskimo Pie and Chipwich to the Dreyer's division of Nestlé.[9][10]

In 2020, Dreyer's announced that they would change the former brand name to "Edy’s Pie" in 2021.[11][12] The Edy's name is a nod to candy maker Joseph Edy, one of the founders of Dreyer's.[12]

In France

In June 1924, the "Esquimaux-Brick" company was founded in Paris.[13] It quickly expanded its production to other European countries, in particular to Italy and Hungary. The company produced "Esquimaux Bricks" which, as the name says, did not yet have a stick. The rights for Esquimaux brand were registered in France in 1928.[14] The "Esquimaux Ch. Gervais" were marketed the same year by Gervais, a French cheese producer.[15] In 1931, Gervais bought the Société Esquimaux-Brick, which was dissolved.[16] The trademark was filed by Gervais. It was renamed to "Kim" ("Kim Eskimo" or "Kim cone") during the years 1990–2000, as due to its wide use it was recognized as a generic name.[17]

In other countries

In South Australia, the Alaska Ice Cream company licensed the Eskimo Pie name and manufacturing process in 1923.[18]

In the countries of the former Soviet Union as well as in France the word "Eskimo" is used as a generic name, not a trademark, for chocolate-covered ice cream with a wooden stick to handle it.[citation needed]

In Czechia, "Eskymo" is a brand of Eskimo Pie-style ice cream produced (as of 2020) by Unilever under its Algida brand.[19] While the word "Eskymo" can be used as a generic term in some regions of the country, the most common word for a chocolate-covered bar of ice-cream with a stick handle is "Nanuk" (in reference to the 1922 film Nanook of the North).[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ "Eskimo Pie to become Edy's Pie in 2021". Food Dive. Archived 10 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  2. ^ "Inuit or Eskimo: Which name to use? | Alaska Native Language Center". www.uaf.edu. Archived 30 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  3. ^ James T. Ehler (1992-03-08). "Christian Kent Nelson: Who's Who in Food History". Foodreference.com. Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  4. ^ Eschner, Kat. "The Weird, Brief History of the Eskimo Pie Corporation". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  5. ^ Duan, Charles (20 October 2015). "Ice Cream Patent Headache". Slate. Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. ^ "History of Russell Stover Candies Inc. – FundingUniverse". Fundinguniverse.com. Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  7. ^ "Eskimo Pie Day". CooksInfo. Archived 25 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  8. ^ "CoolBrands sells Eskimo Pie, Chipwich brands to Dreyer's". CBC News. 2007-01-24. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  9. ^ "CoolBrands press release announcing sale of Eskimo Pie and Chipwich". Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  10. ^ "History of Eskimo Pie Corporation – FundingUniverse". Fundinguniverse.com. Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  11. ^ "Acknowledging derogatory term, Eskimo Pie owner says to change ice cream's name". Reuters. 2020-06-19. Archived 20 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  12. ^ Poinski, Megan (October 2, 2020). "Eskimo Pie to become Edy's Pie in 2021". Food Dive. Industry Dive. Archived 10 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Part de Fondateur: Scriponet" (in French). Archived 31 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Bâtonnet de crème glacée" (in French). Office québécois de la langue française. 2011-06-21. Archived 31 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  15. ^ "Histoire de Nestle en France" (in French). Nestle. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  16. ^ "Etablissements Esquimaux Brick" (in Italian). Archivio Centrale dello Stato. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  17. ^ Masson, Delphine (30 June 2000). "Ces marques victimes de leur succès" [These brands are victims of their success] (in French). strategies.fr. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Alaska Ice Cream Company". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 August 1923. p. 7. Archived 24 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Seriál o zmrzlině: Česká klasika" (in Czech). Archived 28 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2020.