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Eskimo Pie is a brand name for a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil, the first such dessert sold in the United States. Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ...
Missing image Ice cream is often served on a stick Boxes of ice cream are often found in stores in a display freezer. ...
Danish immigrant Christian K. Nelson, a schoolteacher and candy store owner, claimed to have received the inspiration for the Eskimo Pie in 1920 (in Iowa) when a boy in his store was unable to decide whether to spend his money on ice cream or a chocolate bar. After experimenting with different ways to adhere melted chocolate to bricks of ice cream, Nelson began selling his invention under the name "I-Scream Bars." In 1921, he filed for a patent, and secured an agreement with chocolate manufacturer Russell Stover to mass-produce them under the new trademarked name "Eskimo Pie." After patent 1,404,539 was issued on January 24, 1922, Nelson franchised the product, allowing ice cream manufacturers to produce them under that name. The patent was invalidated in 1929. 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 26th 145,743 km² 320 km 500 km 0. ...
1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Related company history
Stover sold his share of the business. Nelson became independently wealthy off the royalties from the sale of Eskimo Pies.
Nelson then sold his share of the business to the United States Foil Company, which made the Eskimo Pie wrappers. He retired at a young age, but reportedly out of boredom rejoined what was then called Reynolds Metals Company (now part of Alcoa) in 1935, inventing new methods of manufacturing and shipping Eskimo Pies and serving as an executive until his ultimate retirement in 1961. Alcoa NYSE: AA is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, and alumina with operations in 43 countries. ...
1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
In 1992, Nelson died at the age of 99. In that same year, Eskimo Pie Corporation was spun off from Reynolds in an initial public offering, as an alternative to an acquisition that Nestlé had proposed in 1991. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...
In financial markets, an initial public offering (IPO) is the first sale of a companys common shares to public investors, any other issuance by the company being called a Secondary Market Offering. ...
Nestlé S.A. or Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, is the worlds biggest food and beverage company. ...
1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Eskimo Pie brand confectionery is still sold today by CoolBrands International, which acquired Eskimo Pie Corporation in 2000. CoolBrands International is a Canadian Company based in Markham, Ontario. A selection of confectioneries The term confectionery refers to food items that are (at least perceptibly) rich in sugar. ...
CoolBrands International is a company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that makes frozen desserts, sold under a variety of brands. ...
See also History Eskimo Pie, America's first chocolate covered ice cream bar, was invented by Christian Kent Nelson in his home laboratory in 1920. Nelson patented his invention and the ice cream bar quickly rose in popularity in America. By 1922, Nelson was earning $2000 per day in royalties on his product. The Klondike bar is a brand name for a dessert generally consisting of a vanilla ice cream square coated with a thin layer of chocolate. ...
Christian K. Nelson was born on March 12, 1893, in Gunstrup, Denmark, to Pedar Nelson and Margerethe Madesen Nelson. While Nelson was an infant, the seven Nelson children and their parents emigrated to the United States. The dairy farming family settled in Illinois, Wisconsin, and finally in Iowa in 1903. In Onawa, Iowa, Nelson opened a small confectionary shop near the high school where he worked as a teacher.
The inspiration for the invention of Eskimo Pie was a boy's indecision in Nelson's confectionary store in 1920. A boy started to buy ice cream, then changed his mind and bought a chocolate bar. Nelson inquired as to why he did not buy both. The boy replied, "Sure I know-I want 'em both, but I only got a nickel." For weeks after the incident, Nelson worked around the clock experimenting with different methods of sticking melted chocolate to frozen ice cream until he found cocoa butter to be the perfect adherent.
Immediately, he produced 500 ice cream bricks with a chocolate candy coating. The "I-Scream Bars" were a hit at the local village fireman's picnic and Nelson began searching for companies to manufacture his new product.
On July 13, 1921, Nelson and chocolate maker Russell C. Stover entered into a joint agreement (other image) to market and produce the product. It was decided the name would change from Nelson's "I-Scream Bar" to "Eskimo Pie". In the hand-written agreement composed the same day the two met for the first time, the entrepreneurs agreed to "coat ice cream with chocolate [sic] divide the profits equally." They decided to sell the manufacturing rights to local ice cream companies for $500 to $1000, plus royalties on each Eskimo Pie sold.
Nelson and Stover began their business venture with an advertising campaign in Des Moines, Iowa. The first 250,000 pies produced were sold within 24 hours. By spring 1922, 2,700 manufacturers sold one million Eskimo Pies per day.
On January 24, 1922, the United States granted patent number 1,404,539 for the Eskimo Pie. Nelson's patent applied to any type of frozen material covered with candy. Nelson also had the name "Eskimo Pie" trademarked. Initially, even the word "Pie" in a brand name frozen treat was covered by this trademark. The breadth of the patent was detrimental to Eskimo Pie because of growing legal costs associated with its defense.
Russell Stover sold his share of the company in 1922. Because of the cost of litigation, high salaried salesmen, and difficulties in collecting royalties, the company was sold in 1924. Eskimo Pie became a subsidiary of United States Foil Company, the supplier of the Eskimo Pie wrapper. Headed by R.S. Reynolds, Sr., the company later became known as Reynolds Metals Company.
In 1925, dry ice was invented. Nelson was eager to find a way to make buying Eskimo Pie as easy as buying another snack from a vendor. Nelson began to market thermal jugs with dry ice supplied with Eskimo Pies to vendors without access to a freezer. This increased visibility and distribution and made Eskimo Pie an "impulse" item.
The patent litigation continued until October 3, 1929, when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower courts declared that the 1922 patent was invalid, due to "lack of invention." Eskimo Pie resembled an earlier product that also called for ice cream with cocoa butter dipped in chocolate. The judge declared that Nelson had merely changed the shape for an existing product. Even his trademark on the work "pie" was invalidated, as the judge said the word had a wide variety of use.
Nelson retired to California and assigned his royalties to his wife, Myrtle Skidmore "Skid" Nelson. However, Nelson, reportedly "bored," came out of retirement in 1935 to rejoin Eskimo Pie and work on new products. Nelson continued to create ice cream innovations such as ice patties and colored ice cream holiday centers within Eskimo Pie products.
In 1955, Nelson was awarded a patent for his Eskimo Machine. The machinery squeezed out ice cream of the correct dimensions which was then cut into bars. This process was faster than the older method of molding the ice cream bar.
After a decline in sales during the Great Depression, Eskimo Pie received a boost from sales to the United States armed forces during World II. Rising commodity prices in the post war era forced the company to reduce the size of the product. However, the distinct foil wrapper remained the same. Nelson officially retired from Eskimo Pie in 1961 as vice-president and director of research. Surviving his wife by one year, he died March 8, 1992.
In 1992, Eskimo Pie became independent of Reynolds' Metals. The company continues to market dozens of shapes, sizes, and types of frozen treats. The brand name Eskimo Pie continues to have strong consumer recognition and has appeared in cartoons, movies, and even in Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary
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