Are Edy's And Dreyer's The Same Ice Cream?

If you've grocery-shopped on both coasts, you may have noticed peculiar similarities between certain round tubs of ice cream with brown and white striped lids. The iconic Edy's and Dreyer's brands of ice cream look strikingly similar — identical, some might say — and it's not just the Mandela effect tricking you.

The shared features of Edy's and Dreyer's ice cream is due to the fact that they're the exact same ice cream sold with different monikers. On the West Coast and in Texas, you'll find the ice cream sold under the Dreyer's brand name. East of the Rocky Mountains, though, you'll see only Edy's ice cream with the same iconic striped lids as its West Coast siblings. Both Edy's and Dreyer's are one and the same operating today under the main Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Co. brand.

The same ice cream brand being sold under different names can be a little confusing, but there are two reasonable purposes for it. One, the different names pay homage to the two original founders of the company, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. They originally called the brand Edy's Grand Ice Cream, but in 1947, that partnership ended, and the name was changed to Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream. By 1977, the brand changed ownership and experienced even more growth, expanding East. At this time, another famous East Coast-based ice cream company, Breyers, was not too happy to share market space with a similar-sounding brand. So, the two companies agreed to leave Dreyer's as is in the West, but to market the same brand as Edy's in the East.

What happens when an ice cream maker and a candy maker become friends? They invent Rocky Road ice cream. In 1928, the two men formed a partnership and founded what we know today as the Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Co. Together, they used their confectionary prowess to invent one of the most iconic ice cream flavors: Rocky Road (though its origins are debated). As mentioned earlier, the partnership dissolved in 1947, but Dreyer's Ice Cream Co. continued to expand and thrive, innovating the ice cream market and becoming beloved by households across the country.

Today, the brand is still loved, whether fans know it as Edy's or Dreyer's. Available in a Classic, Slow Churned, or "Extras" line that includes flavors with a variety of mix-ins, the company continues to be a staple ice cream at the grocery store. There has been online speculation by eagle-eyed fans over the past few months, though, that the brand has changed its recipe and lowered quality standards. This is perhaps most evident in a shift from the packaging saying "ice cream" to now being labeled a "frozen dairy dessert." Sadly, whether you grew up on Dreyer's or Edy's, it seems neither are going to have the same nostalgic appeal as they used to.