What are the brand names of the premium ice cream bars sold in the USA, what are
the retail prices for each brand, and where are they made? (company
name, city, state at minimum. Other contact details would be nice, but
not necessary)
Premium ice cream bars, to help you define them, are not sold on a
straight stick like a popsicle. They are sold on a paddle shaped
stick.
I am not interested in web sites for dairy associations, or web sites
for ice cream companies, unless they specifically answer my questions
without further inquiry.  I would expect all of this information could
be quickly gathered on a trip to a corner dairy store, but I don't
live in the US.  Thanks for your help!!!

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Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 17 Apr 2003 08:10 PDT

Hi diannee --

I see your question still sitting here today, which surprises me given
the number of researchers in the US whom I know would jump at the
chance to do some firsthand icecream research.

I'm wondering if there is a difference between icecream bars in the US
and wherever you are.

My confusion is over your description of the "paddle" versus the
popsicle "stick" - the icecream bars that I'm familiar with either
come on a straight popsicle stick OR comes as a bar with no stick at
all.

The premium brand name the comes to mind is Klondike. The Original
Klondike Bar is pictured here, along with all of its newer offspring.

GOOD HUMOR-BREYERS - KLONDIKE
http://www.icecreamusa.com/klondike/default.asp

Another that springs to mind is Ben and Jerry's Peace Pop, pictured
here:

BEN AND JERRY'S - PEACE POPS
http://www.benjerry.com/our_products/flavor_details.cfm?product_id=16

I haven't had one in years, but I don't recall anything unusual about
the stick.

Are these the kinds of products you are talking about? If so, I'd be
happy to look for some more for you.

--K~

Dianee - -

The great danger of researching this question was in going into a
grocery store and NOT coming out with a box of Dove Bars.

First, let me explain that I’m in Seattle and that may influence was
premium ice cream specialties are available.  There are a large number
of regional firms, such as Tillamook and Denali, that may not
distribute nationwide or may license through other vendors.  The Ben
and Jerry’s example cited by knowledge_seeker-ga is a good example:
the ice cream is available nationwide but I’ve never seen the Peace
Pops in Washington State.

Other researchers may add some regional concerns of their own but here
are three examples:
Ben & Jerry’s
"Factory Tours"
http://www.benjerry.com/our_company/about_us/tours/

Tillamook Cheese Company
"Ice Cream" (2001)
http://www.tillamookcheese.com/products/icecream.html

Denali Flavors
http://www.moosetracks.com/flavors.html

Stroh’s Ice Cream
http://www.melodyfarms.com/IceCream-Strohs.html

Business.com has a directory of ice cream manufacturers that would
expand the list dramatically and would include ice cream retailers
like Baskin-Robbins that have their own premium ice cream bars :
Business.com
"Ice Cream Manufacturers" (directory: undated)
http://www.business.com/directory/food_and_beverage/dairy_producers/ice_cream/


The vendors whose products meet your specifications exactly (with wide
paddle sticks) and are distributed nationwide are:

Dove Bars, $5.29 for a pack of 4; on sale for $3.99.  These can also
be purchased in convenience stores singly for $1.89.
Manufactured by Masterfoods USA., Burr Ridge, IL.  Masterfoods is
privately-held company but here is their information page on Dove
chocolates:
http://www.dovechocolate.com/every.html

Haagen-Dazs Bars, $4.19 for a pack of 3; on sale for $2.99.  Also
available in convenience stores for about the same price.
Headquarters for Haagen-Dazs is is Willkes-Barre, PA, but the company
is a subsidiary of Nestle
Haagen-Daz 
"Company Directory"
http://www.haagen-dazs.com/coudir.do


There are a number of premium or specialty bars sold with without a
stick (the M&M Mars examples below) or sold with a narrow
popsicle-type stick:

Nestle Crunch Bars, $3.99 for 6.

Klondike Heath Bars, $4.99 for 6
Klondike is a brand of Good Humor-Breyers ice cream, of Green Bay, WI:
http://www.icecreamusa.com/gettoknow/default.htm

M&M Mars Snicker Ice Cream Bars, $4.99 for 6
M&M Mars Twix Ice Cream Bars, $4.19 for 6
These are produced under license from Mars, Inc. by Masterfoods USA,
Burr Ridge, IL.

Dreyers Strawberry Fruit Ice Cream bar, $3.79 for 6.
Dreyers, in Oakland, CA, is 50% owned by Nestle.  Curiously, Dreyers
is also the distributor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, a direct
competitor to Nestle’s Haagen Dazs unit:
http://www.dreyersinc.com/

Starbuck Mocha Frapuccino Ice Cream Bars, $4.99 for 4
Nestle currently produces all of the Starbucks-branded ice cream
products, but is rumored to have the business for sale due to its
desire to increase its investment in Dreyers:
CNN
"Nestle still talking about ice cream" (March 6, 2003)
http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/06/news/companies/nestle_ftc.reut/


You can do your own online shopping with many U.S. grocery sites,
though you may need to know a zip code for which they’ll deliver.  A
few examples are:

Albertsons
www.albertsons.com

Safeway
http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/

Peapod
www.peapod.com


Google search strategy:
Amble over to the local QFC (a subsidiary of Kroger’s)
brand search online
groceries + "online shopping"

If any part of this is unclear, please let me know before rating the
answer.


Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Request for Answer Clarification by dianee-ga on 19 Apr 2003 01:02 PDT

Thanks, Omnivorous!  You picked up what I want. You found two premium
ice cream bars with paddle sticks, with prices and manufacturing
locations.  And the on-line grocery shop PeaPod netted one more (one
called Silhouette), sold in Chicago.  But surely there are more than 3
in the US. I can see that the on-line grocery shopping is a good way
to pick them up, if the photos are complete enough to show the paddle
sticks.  Would you mind trying to find one more?  Perhaps an east
coast grocery chain would have one we haven't discovered.

---

Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 19 Apr 2003 07:43 PDT

Dianee --

The easy part is finding specialty ice cream products.  The hard part
is knowing which ones have a wide, paddle-like stick.  For example,
New York City has a popular product called the 'Chipwich' but I don't
know if it has ever appeared on a stick -- or if the stick was the
wide paddle-type:
Chipwich
http://www.chipwich.com/index.html

Another New York State example, in which it's not clear whether
Perry's is simply competing against Dove and Haagen Dazs -- or they
have stick-based products:
Exxon Chemical
"New Packaging for Perry's Ice Cream Sandwiches"
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Public_PA/WorldwideEnglish/Newsroom/Newsreleases/chem_nr_110402_3.asp

In searching supermarkets, the top 75 list of grocery stores is
available from Supermarket News, an industry publication.  The list
includes convenience stores (gas stations) and their food-related
sales:
Supermarket News
"SN's Top 75" (2002)
http://www.supermarketnews.com/sntop75.htm

I'm not quite sure how you'd like to have me proceed from here?

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Request for Answer Clarification by dianee-ga on 27 Apr 2003 01:34 PDT

Dear Omnivorous:
From your last response, it would appear that you did not look at any
east coast on-line grocery stores, check their ice cream items for
sale, and look for ice cream bars sold on paddle sticks.  This
approach is what I was hoping for - to try to locate one more product
before rating the answer.  If you did try this, which stores did you
try, so I don't duplicate your effort?
Thanks!
Diane

---

Clarification of Answer by omnivorous-ga on 27 Apr 2003 07:33 PDT

Dainee --

The major problem is differentiating between offerings on a normal
popsicle stick and those on a wide stick.  Online presentations of
products don't dwell on the stick.

Here's where else one can look:

Baskin Robbins (4500 retail ice cream specialty
stores)http://www.baskinrobbins.com/about/

Though Baskin Robbins doesn't indicate it online, they do have ice
cream bars in a freezer case in stores.  So too does Dairy Queen, with
a product called the 'Dilly Bar' (though I believe that it's a
popsicle stick).  Dairry Queen has more than 6,000 franchisees in the
U.S. and Canada.  It is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
is located at:
7505 Metro Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN 55439
http://www.idq.com/default.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1

As for grocery outlets, Safeway owns a large number of chains
(including Dominick's, a collection of stores in the Chicago area) but
is only delivering on the West Coast.  Albertson's delivery areas (and
the ones for which online ordering is available) match those of
Safeway.

Stop & Shop is a chain offering home delivery via Peapod (a delivery
service).  You may wish to register using a New York suburban address
to check pricing and availability (Rye, NY is zip code 10580):
http://www.stopandshop.com/

In the process of trying to get some other samples, we discovered that
--

Roundy's does not offer online shopping:
www.roundys.com
Marsh Supermarkets (Indiana) offers only limited online shopping:
www.marsh.net
Meijer's, a Michigan-based chain that sells groceries and hard goods,
offers very limited shopping online, mostly with hard goods:
www.meijer.com
Similarly with Raley's (California, Nevada, New Mexico):
http://www.raleys.com/
Byerly's, an upscale Minnesota-based grocer, doesn't offer online
shopping either:
http://www.byerlys.com/
Winn-Dixie is a major southeastern chain but apparently doesn't offer
online shopping:
http://www.winn-dixie.com/

The Food Marketing Institute's list of grocery chains with websites. 
Note that some of these are subsidiaries of larger companies:
Food Marketing Institute
"FMI Member Websites"
http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/memberlist.htm


Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA