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Blue Bunny No Longer Real Ice Cream

Blue Bunny ice cream has been a rebel. When other brands downsized to 56 ounces, they stayed at half a gallon. Subsequently when the industry moved to a 48-ounce container, Blue Bunny didn’t follow. But ultimately, they did conform to the now standard 48-ounce size.

The company also saw other brands in the ice cream business like Breyer’s convert some of their real ice cream flavors to “frozen dairy desserts” — a product no longer allowed by federal law to be called “ice cream” because it has less than the required 10% milkfat. Back in 2016, Blue Bunny told Mouse Print*:

[other brands are] electing to stray from the true definition of ice cream and deliver frozen dairy dessert… the quality of our ice cream has not been ignored, in fact our ice cream is better than ever!

Fast forward a few years and so much for that noble stance. Our friend, the Ingredient Inspector, discovered a very inconspicuous change that Blue Bunny appears to have made three years ago. The words “ice cream” quietly disappeared from most of their 48-ounce containers, and “frozen dairy dessert” appeared next to the net weight.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Blue Bunny frozen dairy dessert

Even the best of us would not likely spot that change. But how does that wording change translate in the composition of the product?

*MOUSE PRINT:

Blue Bunny ingredients

Instead of milk and cream as the primary ingredients in the real ice cream product, now skim milk and whey powder predominate in the revised version, and they’ve added coconut oil.

I bet that most Blue Bunny customers never realized the product changed, making this an early example of skimpflation.

For more examples of the ingredients changes in Blue Bunny “frozen dairy dessert” please see the detailed story at the Ingredient Inspector.

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Blue Bunny Ice Cream Downsizes

Blue Bunny has been the white knight of the ice cream industry. When other brands downsized to 56 ounces, they stayed at half a gallon. Subsequently when the industry moved to a 48 ounce container, Blue Bunny touted that their now 56 ounce container gave you two extra scoops.

2 more scoops

Now, eagle-eyed Mouse Print* reader Richard G., the king of finding products that have undergone the shrink ray, reports that Blue Bunny has finally succumbed and downsized its ice cream and yogurt products, cutting out a cup or more of the sweet treat.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Blue Bunny 56 oz. Blue Bunny 48 oz.

In fact, some varieties are now 46 ounces, not even 48 ounces.

The company explains that it has changed its packaging to see-through plastic, and in answer to the question of why they shrunk containers, they say:

While ice cream is fun it is also a very competitive landscape! Over the last several years consumers have seen brands respond to the competitiveness with various changes to their products, from changing size of container to electing to stray from the true definition of ice cream and deliver frozen dairy dessert. While our packaging size has changed with our makeover, the quality of our ice cream has not been ignored, in fact our ice cream is better than ever! Most importantly, consumers can be confident Blue Bunny is committed to delivering an incredible ice cream experience with the best quality in all aspects – from the first opening to digging out the last scoop in the container! We are dedicated every day to ensure that we are delivering on the commitment to provide high quality ice cream products at a reasonable price for our fans to enjoy.

So, parsing all that flowery language… they are doing just what competitors did a long time ago.

They have also tinkered with the nutrition label, such as the one for the frozen yogurt above. The serving size is now 70 grams instead of the old 86 grams.

Just don’t expect Blue Bunny to proclaim these changes with a big banner like this:

Blue Bunny Two Fewer