The Major Company Behind Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream

Today, you can browse the freezer aisle of any grocery store or walk into an actual storefront and peruse the dozens of Häagen-Dazs ice cream flavors, from Dark Cherry Truffle to Rum Raisin to Caramel Cone. Back in the day, however, the brand only offered three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Coffee. Although that's not the only major change the beloved Häagen-Dazs has seen throughout the years, between ingredient improvements, storefront expansions, and ownership sales. At this point, the Häagen-Dazs brand name is owned and operated by General Mills everywhere, with the exception of North America.

General Mills, aka the company behind Cheerios and one of America's biggest Italian chains, is the owner of the Häagen-Dazs trademark worldwide. But you'll only spot that classic, swooping "GM" on its version of Häagen-Dazs outside of the U.S. and Canada. Back in 1983, Pillsbury acquired Häagen-Dazs from its original owners, Reuben and Rose Mattus. In 1999, Pillsbury placed its ownership of Häagen-Dazs into a joint venture with Nestlé's novelty ice cream business, but this only included the brand's representation in the U.S., not globally. Just two years later, Pillsbury was purchased by General Mills, which inherited the larger Häagen-Dazs trademark and production internationally, which it still owns today.

The complicated part of this ownership story all boils down to Pillsbury's fateful decision to enter the U.S. branch of Häagen-Dazs into that joint venture with Nestlé. When General Mills purchased Pillsbury and acquired the Häagen-Dazs trademark, it technically only owned 50% of the U.S. version of the brand. Thanks to that change in ownership, Nestlé called in a stipulation of its joint venture, allowing it to buy General Mills' 50%, purchase another licensing agreement in Canada, and handle Häagen-Dazs production in North America for the following 99 years. Nestlé ended up selling its U.S. ice cream division, including Häagen-Dazs, to a company called Froneri in late 2019, which is now responsible for U.S. production.

With all this hoopla, you'd think Häagen-Dazs is an old-school food brand that's been around for a while, but the ice cream dealer only got its start in 1960. It's the brainchild of a Polish immigrant who was so passionate about high-quality ice cream that he created a luxury brand to reflect that — but that's only part of the origin story behind the Häagen-Dazs ice cream brand. Even though the first storefront didn't open until 1976, it only took 23 years of building the name for Pillsbury to see enough potential and purchase the company for a whopping $70 million. Today, the ice cream brand is sold in more than 50 countries, coming up strong even after multiple ownership changes.