Häagen-Dazs Vs Tillamook: What's The Difference Between The Ice Cream Brands?

Häagen-Dazs and Tillamook Ice Cream are both known for offering rich and satisfying ice cream, but what really separates them? Let's compare the two brands' pasts, public plaudits, and ingredients to answer that question. We'll start with a pint of each brand's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and look for any quality differences. Häagen-Dazs prides itself on using no artificial additives in its ice cream, so it's not shocking that the ingredient list for its Vanilla Bean variety is so short: cream, skim milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, and ground vanilla beans. 

Tillamook's Vanilla Bean, meanwhile, has cream, skim milk, milk, sugar, pasteurized egg yolks, natural flavors, vanilla, and vanilla beans — but includes two food thickeners, tara gum and guar gum. Both are natural and plant-based, but their presence in Tillamook's ice cream explains why it may feel more velvety in the mouth compared to Häagen-Dazs. Häagen-Dazs also has lower overrun – or less air incorporated during the freezing process.  That results in a lower volume increase, which — along with attributes like a higher butterfat content – allows the brand to be labeled as super premium ice cream, indicating a special level of richness. Tillamook's ice cream is lighter, and while it does have a high butterfat content, it does not qualify as super premium ice cream.

Both brands offer ice cream by the pint and chocolate-covered ice cream bars, but Tillamook sells what they call "family size" ice cream, which is a 1.5-quart container. The largest-sized container Häagen-Dazs produces is 64 ounces (2 quarts), with its smallest being 3.6-ounce cups. Häagen-Dazs sells several flavors of sorbet and Belgian Waffle Cones, which are filled with ice cream, toppings, nuts, or pieces of chocolate. You'll find over 50 flavors in the Häagen-Dazs line, whereas Tillamook offers more than 30. 

Tillamook and Häagen-Dazs naturally developed their distinct brands in completely different ways. Häagen-Dazs began life as a collaboration between husband and wife team Reuben and Rose Mattus, the former having had a previous professional career in frozen foods, in the 1960s. Concentrating on high-quality ingredients, the first retail Häagen-Dazs store opened in Brooklyn in 1976.

Pillsbury bought the brand in 1983, and Nestlé and Pillsbury entered into a partnership in 1999 that consolidated their ice cream arms under a single umbrella, Ice Cream Partners. This was followed by General Mills buying Pillsbury in 2001, and then Nestlé bought out General Mills' half of their joint venture the same year by exercising its contractual rights, which allowed it to sell Häagen-Dazs in the US and Canada through a 99-year license. In 2019, Nestlé subsequently sold its right to the Häagen-Dazs license to Froneri, a partnership created by Nestlé and a private equity firm called PAI Partners back in 2016. Froneri still distributes Häagen-Dazs products as of this writing.

The ownership chain of the Tillamook is far less complicated to trace. The Tillamook County Creamery Association, a co-op of farmers established in 1909, still owns and maintains the Oregon-based brand. They also distribute cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese dishes.

But how do people feel about the two brands when they're placed head-to-head? On ice-cream-related subreddits, the battle for supremacy between the brands has been fierce, and plenty of people showed up for Häagen-Dazs. 

"Häagen-Dazs, and it's not even remotely close. It's higher fat, much lower overrun, and doesn't use gums, algae, or other stabilizers. Tillamook is certainly cheaper, but there's a reason for that, and it shows in the quality of the product," one poster said. "Easily Häagen-Dazs. Much, much better texture, and a better flavor as well. And it has legit chunks, and isn't overly sweet. Never understood the praise Tillamook gets, tbh ... its texture feels similar to non premium ice creams," said another. 

But Tillamook definitely has its supporters. "Tillamook!!!! My fav strawberry ice cream," a defender of the brand cried. "Tillamook is the best bang for your buck when purchasing super premium Ice cream," another said. Whether you love one brand more than the other, it's hard to deny that there are some pretty striking differences between the two ice cream slingers — and now you know what makes them totally unique brands.