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Magnum (ice cream)

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Magnum is a brand of ice cream and the company's namesake, originally developed and produced by Frisko in Aarhus, Denmark, a part of the British company Unilever.[1][2] It is sold as part of the Heartbrand line of products, which is owned by Unilever in most countries and is available in sticks, tubs and bites. In Greece, the Magnum brand name has been owned by Nestlé since 2005–2006 following the acquisition of Delta Ice Cream, so the Unilever ice cream uses the name Magic.

Magnum
Product typeIce cream
OwnerUnilever
Produced byHeartbrand
CountryDenmark
Introduced1989
TaglineTrue to pleasure
WebsiteOfficial website

History

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The ice cream today known as Magnum was developed in Aarhus, Denmark, in the late 1980s by Mogens Vigh-Larsen (1935–2019), then technical director of Frisko, which is an ice cream maker.[1][3][2][4] It was put into production in autumn 1988 and originally manufactured by Frisko in Denmark.[5] The original Magnum (later rebranded as Magnum Classic) consisted of a thick bar of vanilla ice cream on a stick, with a chocolate coating. As there was no real chocolate that could stand the temperature of −40 degrees Celsius, an ad hoc chocolate had to be developed.[6] The original Magnum had a weight of 86 grams and a volume of 120 ml.[7] The Aarhus factory was converted into apartments, shops, and a fitness centre named "Friskohus" (The Frisko House) after the ice cream company brand.[8] The Frisko brand is still used in Denmark.[9]

The company also started selling Magnum ice cream cones in 1994 and an ice cream sandwich in 2002.[10][11]

The actor Roger Moore, best known for his portrayal of James Bond, famously claimed to have come up with the idea of the Magnum, although Wall's deny any knowledge of this, saying it is no more than "a brilliant story".[12]

 
Walls Magnum in 1960

The Magnum name for a coated ice-cream on a stick is much older than this, however, as evidenced by a January 1960 photo of the refreshments kiosk of the local Odeon cinema in the archives of the Chorley Guardian newspaper. This version had a strawberry flavoured shell.

On March 19, 2024, Unilever announced it would divest its ice cream brands and cut 7,500 jobs in order to make “a simpler, more focused and higher performing Unilever.” Included in the spin-off are Ben & Jerry's, Cornetto, Magnum, Talenti, and Wall’s. The divestment is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.[13]

Varieties

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A Magnum Gold ice cream bar

Starting in 1992, the company added Magnum Almond, Double Chocolate, and White amongst other flavours. In 2002, Magnum branched into frozen yogurt with its raspberry fruit swirl covered in milk chocolate. Moments were introduced which were bite-size ice cream treats with caramel, chocolate, or hazelnut centres, followed later in the year by "mini", "crunchy" (with almonds), and "light". Late 2002 saw the launch of Magnum Intense, a chocolate truffle center enveloped in ice cream and covered with chocolate, and the limited edition 7 Deadly Sins series of ice creams, whose flavours were named after the seven deadly sins. Sins were followed by another limited edition range in 2005 in which each flavour was named after one of the senses: Magnum Aroma, Magnum Touch, Magnum Sound, Magnum Taste, and Magnum Sight.

In 2003, Streets, the brand under which Magnum is sold in Australia and New Zealand, brought out a limited edition series of ice creams known as The Sixties Nine featuring sixties-related names: John Lemon, Wood Choc, Jami Hendrix, ChocWork Orange, Peace ManGO, Cinnaman on the Moon, Cherry Guevara, Candy Warhol and Guava Lamp. Consumers who collected nine of these ice cream sticks could send them off to get a free Magnum T-shirt. The extreme popularity of the ChocWork Orange resulted in Streets selling it as the "Chocolate Orange" Magnum for some time after the remainder of the range was discontinued. Similarly, the Peppermint Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins range became "Peppermint" and is still available in Australia today.

In 2008, Magnum brought out new variants in the UK—Mayan Mystica, a chocolate ice cream Magnum blended with cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey flavours; and Magnum Minis available in a variety of flavours.

In 2020, Magnum brought new variants Rose Ruby and Salted Caramel. These are produced in a tub with a crackable outside chocolate layer.[14][incomplete short citation]

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Actress Eva Longoria was the face of Magnum in 2008. Also in 2008, Josh Holloway, from television's Lost, was selected as the first male spokesperson of Magnum in Turkey. Benicio del Toro and Caroline Correa starred in a television commercial for Magnum Gold, directed by Bryan Singer.

In 2021, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death, a new limited edition was launched that included three ice creams, each inspired by each of the three Cantiche of the Divine Comedy.[15][16][17] To celebrate the anniversary, in partnership with the Scuderie del Quirinale [it], a work was also commissioned to the Italian painter Roberto Ferri, who created Il Bacio di Dante e Beatrice (The Kiss of Dante and Beatrice).[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The painting was exhibited at the Palazzo Firenze [it] in Rome.[25][26][27]

Internationally

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In 2009, Magnum Mini Moments were launched. They came in three types of chocolate: milk, white and dark all with five different flavours including almond and truffle. In China, the Magnum name is retained; however, there are fewer varieties—as of 2009 there are only vanilla, cappuccino, and crunchy. Mint and double chocolate were introduced in 2006–7 but were pulled from the market in 2008 (or possibly before).

 
Magnum Marc de Champagne ice cream was introduced in 2014.

In 2011, Magnum ice cream was launched in the US and Canada with six varieties: Double Caramel, Double Chocolate, Classic, Almond, White, and Dark.

In March 2012, Malaysia introduced a flavor known as Choco-Cappucino.[28]

In April 2013, Magnum ice cream was launched in India by Hindustan Unilever, starting with Chennai, and February the following year, it expanded to national distribution.[29] It is distributed under the brand name Kwality Wall's (ice cream).[30]

In 2014, The Philippines opened a "make-your-own" or "do-it-yourself" Magnum dessert bar/cafe called Magnum Manila, located at SM Aura's Sky Park, Taguig.

Vegan

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In 2018, Magnum launched its first vegan ice creams in two flavours, Magnum Vegan Classic, and Magnum Vegan Almond. The new product was first released in Finland and Sweden followed by the UK.[31]

References

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Citations
  1. ^ a b Soholm 2016, p. 142.
  2. ^ a b Bendixen 2017.
  3. ^ "The man behind the Magnum is dead". JellyPages.
  4. ^ "25 år med Magnum: Østjysk samarbejde skabte verdenssucces". Food Supply DK (in Danish). 3 July 2014.
  5. ^ Jones, G. (2005). Renewing Unilever: transformation and tradition. Oxford University Press.
  6. ^ Reinders, P. (1999). Licks, sticks & bricks: a world history of ice cream. Unilever.
  7. ^ "Magnum". Ice Cream Park. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Lejlighederne". Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
  9. ^ "Home | Frisko Denmark | Frisko".
  10. ^ "Streets Magnum | Official website". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Brands in action". unilever.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Seven celebrities who are (or were) also inventors". BBC News. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  13. ^ Karaian, Jason (March 19, 2024). "Unilever to Cut 7,500 Jobs and Spin Off Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Unit". New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Unilever 2018
  15. ^ "Magnum Ice Cream Commissioned a Painting That Gives Dante the Kiss He Never Had". 6 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Dante corona il suo sogno: Ecco il bacio a Beatrice firmato Roberto Ferri" (in Italian). 6 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Magnum chiude la campagna MagnumXDante presentando l'opera Il Bacio di Dante e Beatrice" (in Italian). 6 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Magnum: Per concludere la campagna dei gelati, realizza il bacio tra Dante e Beatrice" (in Italian). 6 July 2021.
  19. ^ "E se nessun piacere fosse impossibile?". ELLE (in Italian). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Il Bacio di Dante & Beatrice by Magnum". ilbaciodidante.com (in Italian). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Magnum chiude il progetto MagnumXDante con una mostra alle Scuderie del Quirinale" (in Italian). 18 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Mostra "Inferno", Magnum celebra Dante con una nuova partership" (in Italian). 18 October 2021.
  23. ^ ""Il Bacio di Dante e Beatrice": l'Opera commissionata da Magnum nell'ambito della campagna MagnumXDante" (in Italian). 10 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Edoardo Sferrella, dopo "L'Amica Geniale", protagonista di un thriller prodotto tra Cina e Italia" (in Italian). 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Magnum, uno spot tutto italiano per la nuova limited edition MagnumXDante | Engage" (in Italian).
  26. ^ "Roberto Ferri: Tutto quello che c'è da sapere sulla sua arte" (in Italian). 4 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Magnum celebra il Dante700 con tre gelati speciali in edizione limitata" (in Italian). 25 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Magnum introduces its latest cappuccino flavoured ice-cream". The Star. 15 March 2012.
  29. ^ Pinto, Viveat Susan (25 February 2014). "HUL launches Magnum ice-cream in two more cities". Business Standard India. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  30. ^ "Kwality Wall's Magnum Ice-cream". Mouthshut. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  31. ^ "Magnum's vegan ice-creams are now available in the UK". Vegan Food & Living. 14 September 2018.
Sources
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