5 Ice Cream Brands That Are All Unilever

Walk into the ice cream section of most supermarkets and the variety is striking. There is Ben and Jerry's, with its activist branding and inventive flavor names. There is Magnum, sleek and premium, in its distinctive black packaging. There is Cornetto, the cone of romantic Italian summer associations. There is Wall's in the UK, or Breyers in the United States, both claiming long heritage in family ice cream.

Nearly all of them belong to the same company.

Unilever plc, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant headquartered in London, has been the dominant force in packaged ice cream globally for decades. The company built its ice cream empire through a combination of organic brand development and strategic acquisitions spanning more than 80 years. As of 2025, Unilever's ice cream business generates approximately $8 billion in annual sales and operates under more than 30 different brand names globally.

That empire is about to change. Unilever announced in 2024 that it plans to spin off its ice cream division as a standalone publicly traded company by the end of 2025. The separation would be the largest demerger in Unilever's history. Understanding what Unilever owns in ice cream, and how it built that portfolio, matters as the assets are restructured into an independent entity.

The Unilever Ice Cream Story

Unilever entered the ice cream business through its acquisition of Wall's in the UK in 1922, when the company (then Lever Brothers) acquired the T. Wall and Sons meat and ice cream business. The ice cream side of Wall's grew into a significant business as refrigeration technology spread through British homes in the postwar period.

Internationally, Unilever built its ice cream presence through a strategy of acquiring local market leaders and operating them under their original brand names, while using its global distribution and supply chain infrastructure to generate efficiency. In most countries, the Unilever ice cream brands carry a common heart logo, a visual indicator of shared ownership that most consumers have never noticed.

1. Ben and Jerry's

Ben and Jerry's is the most globally recognized brand in Unilever's ice cream portfolio. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the company built its reputation on innovative flavor combinations, high butterfat content, and an explicitly activist corporate values system.

Unilever acquired Ben and Jerry's in 2000 for approximately $326 million. The acquisition was controversial among Ben and Jerry's fans, who associated the brand with anti-corporate values and feared that corporate ownership would dilute those principles. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield publicly resisted the sale.

The deal included unusual provisions: Ben and Jerry's retained an independent board of directors with authority over the brand's social mission, and the founders received commitments about maintaining certain aspects of Ben and Jerry's identity, including its social and environmental activism.

The arrangement has been contentious in practice. In 2021, Ben and Jerry's independent board voted to end the brand's sales in Israeli-occupied territories, a decision that Unilever initially opposed. Unilever subsequently sold its Israeli Ben and Jerry's operations to a local licensee, which continued selling the products despite the board's objection. Ben and Jerry's sued Unilever in federal court over the decision. The suit was settled in 2022 with Unilever retaining some control over international decisions.

As the ice cream spinoff proceeded in 2025, Ben and Jerry's relationship with the new standalone company became an additional complexity, with the founders seeking stronger protections for the social mission within the spinoff structure.

2. Magnum

Magnum is Unilever's premium ice cream bar brand and one of its highest-revenue products globally. The brand was created in 1989 by the Langnese subsidiary of Unilever in Germany, making it an organic development rather than an acquisition.

The original Magnum Classic, a thick chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar on a stick, was developed as an adult-positioned premium product when most chocolate-coated bars were targeted at children. It was an immediate commercial success and rapidly expanded internationally.

Magnum is now sold in more than 40 countries and generates an estimated $2 billion or more in annual sales, making it one of the highest-revenue single ice cream products in the world. The brand has maintained a premium positioning through product innovation, including the Magnum Double, Magnum Ruby (using ruby chocolate), and Magnum Gold ranges, as well as Magnum Pleasure Stores where consumers can customize their bars in major cities globally.

3. Cornetto

Cornetto is Unilever's branded ice cream cone product, first created in 1959 by Spica, an Italian ice cream manufacturer based in Naples. The concept, a wafer cone filled with ice cream and coated in chocolate, was acquired by Unilever's Algida subsidiary in Italy and subsequently developed into a globally distributed product.

The Cornetto brand is particularly associated with a successful multi-decade marketing campaign in the UK and Europe invoking romantic summer imagery. The campaign became so culturally embedded that the British director Edgar Wright named his Cornetto trilogy of films (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End) partly after the ice cream.

Cornetto is sold under slightly different names in different markets. In the United States, the equivalent product was sold as Drumstick under the Breyers brand, also a Unilever product. In some Asian markets, the brand has expanded aggressively and Cornetto is among the most recognized ice cream brands.

4. Wall's

Wall's is one of the oldest ice cream brands in the UK and one of the most recognized, with origins in the T. Wall and Sons business acquired by Lever Brothers in 1922. The Wall's brand is used as an umbrella brand across a range of products in the UK including lollies, bars, tubs, and multipacks.

Wall's uses the distinctive Unilever heart logo, as do most of Unilever's ice cream brands globally, though the logo is rarely prominently displayed. The Wall's brand is specifically used in the UK, Ireland, and several Southeast Asian markets where the name carries strong heritage recognition.

In some Southeast Asian markets, Wall's is actually Unilever's primary premium ice cream brand, distinct from its role as a mid-market heritage brand in the UK.

5. Breyers

Breyers is one of the oldest ice cream brands in the United States, founded in Philadelphia in 1866 by William Breyer, who sold his ice cream from a horse-drawn wagon. The brand was acquired by Kraft Foods in 1993 and subsequently passed to Unilever when Unilever acquired the Kraftco Dairy Division in 2000.

Breyers is positioned as a value-oriented natural ice cream brand in the United States, emphasizing simple ingredients and American heritage. The brand has faced some consumer controversy over ingredient changes in recent years, with some products reformulated to reduce dairy content.

Within the US ice cream market, Breyers operates alongside Ben and Jerry's as Unilever's mass market and premium options respectively.

The Spinoff: What Happens Next

In March 2024, Unilever announced plans to separate its ice cream business into a standalone publicly traded company. The spinoff is expected to include all of Unilever's ice cream brands globally, including Ben and Jerry's, Magnum, Cornetto, Wall's, Breyers, Carte D'Or, Klondike, Solero, and others.

The new company, which Unilever has indicated may list on Amsterdam, London, and New York stock exchanges, would be one of the largest pure-play ice cream companies in the world. The spinoff reflects Unilever's strategic decision to focus on its faster-growing health, beauty, and personal care businesses.

The timeline for completion has been updated multiple times, with Unilever targeting completion by the end of calendar year 2025.

The Broader Ice Cream Market

Beyond Unilever's portfolio, the global ice cream market includes significant competition from Nestle (Haagen-Dazs, Dreyer's/Edy's), Mars (Dove Ice Cream, Snickers Ice Cream), and numerous regional and local producers. Haagen-Dazs occupies the premium position in many markets as Magnum's primary competitor.

For a complete look at who owns the global ice cream market, read our who owns the ice cream industry analysis. To understand how Unilever was formed and how it built such a diverse consumer goods empire, read how Unilever was formed: the Anglo-Dutch merger.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Unilever selling Ben and Jerry's? Unilever is planning to spin off its entire ice cream division, which includes Ben and Jerry's, as a separate publicly traded company. The spinoff is expected to complete by the end of 2025. Ben and Jerry's would become part of the new standalone ice cream company rather than being sold individually.

Does Unilever own Haagen-Dazs? No. Haagen-Dazs is owned by Nestle in the United States (through a licensing arrangement with General Mills, which holds certain rights) and by General Mills internationally. Haagen-Dazs is Magnum's primary premium competitor in many markets.

When did Unilever buy Ben and Jerry's? Unilever acquired Ben and Jerry's in August 2000 for approximately $326 million. The deal included unusual provisions for the brand to maintain an independent board of directors with oversight of its social mission.

Why does Magnum have a heart logo? The small heart logo on Magnum and other Unilever ice cream packaging is Unilever's ice cream division logo, used across its brand portfolio globally to indicate shared ownership. Most consumers do not recognize the logo as a corporate identifier.

Is Breyers still a Unilever brand? Yes, as of 2026. Breyers is part of the Unilever ice cream portfolio being separated into the planned ice cream spinoff.

Explore Related Brands

• Ben and Jerry's - Premium ice cream brand, owned by Unilever since 2000
• Magnum - Premium ice cream bar brand, developed within Unilever
• Cornetto - Ice cream cone brand, owned by Unilever via Algida
• Wall's - UK heritage ice cream brand, owned by Unilever since 1922
• Breyers - American ice cream brand, owned by Unilever since 2000

Browse all food and beverage brands

Sources

• Unilever Investor Relations, Ice Cream Separation Update 2025 -- https://www.unilever.com/investors/
• Reuters: "Unilever to spin off ice cream division" -- https://www.reuters.com/
• Associated Press: "Ben and Jerry's sues Unilever over Israeli ice cream deal" -- https://apnews.com/
• Wikidata: Ben and Jerry's -- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q622854
• Financial Times: "Unilever ice cream spinoff timeline" -- https://www.ft.com/

All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com's proprietary research methodology. Last updated: April 2026.