A recent TV commercial from Breyers has some adorable kids discussing the company’s “Natural Vanilla” ice cream and its simple ingredients.
After emphasizing the vanilla beans in their Natural Vanilla ice cream, one little girl, as if reading from the label, declares “Breyers has fresh cream, sugar, and milk.”
We’ll have to give this girl an “F” in reading. Look at the product’s actual ingredients statement.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The first ingredient is milk and not cream, but they make it sound like cream is first and the predominant ingredient. Doing so could help sell more ice cream. And mysteriously, our little pitchwoman omitted “tara gum” in her recital.
Now turn back the clock about 20 years, when Breyers made fun of competing brands by asking kids to read their ingredients with unpronounceable additives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWB2T_dDuUA
This kid can read all the ingredients on the Breyers package and did so in the order of predominance.
So should have today’s kids.
Mr. C. already ripped into Unilever a few years back on creating their phoney ice cream (Frozen Dairy Desert). Now Hood and Friendly’s have joined the parade and even – like Breyers – attempt to market what is crap as some wizard substitute for ice cream. Maybe have the kids read the label on that chemical concoction they attempt to pass off as ice cream?
I no longer even buy the commercial products but go to two local dairies that churn their own. I grew up near one of the operations and know the quality, pride and ingredients they use and you pay a price. And both operations sell real half-gallons!
You might as well just buy the store brand. Most store brands are still considered ice cream. As you can see in the lower video, Breyers was labeled ice cream back in 1997. Now you get frozen dairy dessert, as they do not but enough cream in it to be called ice cream. Tara gum comes from a tree and is a thickening agent, which has to be added due to the lack of cream. Of course you only get 1.5 quarts now in the Breyers product. Great article! Consumers forget the ads over time. I guess the manufacturers “forget” also!
I stopped buying Breyers brand over 5 years ago because (1) deceptive downsizing, and (2) ‘filler’ ingredients. They’ve lost my trust and their brand is forever tarnished. I will not buy their product even if it was the last one on the shelf.
Friendly’s ice cream has changed the vanilla ice cream recipe sometime I say in 2015. It is not for the better though.
I say if you want a high quality store brand ice cream go to Costco.
Shoot. I went with this very product because Kemps and other brands seem full of high fructose corn syrup.
A sad fact here is that the manufacturer is confident enough to create misleading advertising like this when Breyer’s ice cream has the ingredients directly on the label. There are consumers who will watch the commercial and buy the product without even taking a second look at the actual label.
I used to love Breyers. Then they added all those awful filler ingredients such as Tara gum. The worst part is when asked they claim they did it to improve taste and texture.
I hate that they just will not be honest and say we are a corporation and we do not care about our loyal fans. We will change the ingredients and pretend like it’s the same ice cream until pressed to give a statement via publicist/corporate speak company.
The only ice cream WIDELY available and have the best ingredients is Haagen-Daaz. Haagen Daaz. Not every flavor avoids the corn syrup but most flavors do such as chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.
DO NOT give Bryers your money.