Diplom-Is AS is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

manufacturer of

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

owned by the dairy group Tine. In 2005, the company produced of ice cream, and held a

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...

of 53% domestically. Among the most notable own brands are Royal, Dream, Krone-Is, Pin-Up, Lollipop, Sandwich, Pia, Gullpinne, Gigant and Klin Kokos. It also produces the franchise Mövenpick,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

and

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

in Scandinavia.

History

The first ice cream factories in Norway were established in the 1920s, and towards the end of the decade the Norwegian Dairies established their own brand, Diplom Is in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, with its first advertisement appearing in 1930. By 1931 the production went on continually through the year, and Oslo got its own

ice cream truck An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near ...

. Production was low during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and after the war there were numerous independent ice cream manufacturers. Many of these were owned by the regional dairy cooperatives. In 1951 these were all

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ed as Diplom-Is and the brand became national. Though having a common brand, it was not until 1991 that all the production of ice cream by the dairies was collected in one company, Norsk Iskrem BA (lit. ''Norwegian Ice Cream''). The following four years saw the "ice cream war" between Diplom-Is and the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

GB Is, but by 1995 GB had to withdraw from the market. At the same time Diplom-Is started to franchise produce the

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brand Mövenpick. In 1992, the company established itself in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and in 2004 in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In 2002 the legal name changed to Diplom-Is AS. On 30 September 2010

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

signed an asset purchase agreement with the Norwegian dairy group TINE, to acquire the activities of Diplom-Is in Denmark.

References

{{Authority control Dairy products companies of Norway Ice cream brands Agricultural cooperatives in Norway 1930 establishments in Norway Food and drink companies established in 1930 Manufacturing companies based in Oslo