GB Glace

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GB Glace is Sweden’s largest ice cream company. It began in 1942 as Glace-Bolaget after Mjölkcentralen’s ice cream department joined forces with Choklad-Thule to buy Alaska Glace. The name GB Glace came in 1991. The first CEO was Eric W. Hanner, who led the company until 1972.

Before GB, several Swedish ice cream makers operated, including Choklad-Thule in Stockholm and Mjölkcentralen’s Puck, which started in 1935. Igloo Glace and MC later merged, helping lay the groundwork for GB. GB expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, opening the large Flen factory in 1957. In 1962 Unilever bought rival brands Gille-Glace and Trollhätteglass, and in the following years GB absorbed several regional dairy brands, extending its reach across Sweden. By 1966 GB had moved into southern Sweden after merging with Malmö Glass and Åhus Glass; Strands Glass joined in 1972. In 1973 GB merged with Trollhätteglass, and Unilever became a partner.

In 1985 Arla sold GB to Unilever but kept a 10 percent stake. The Flen plant was rebuilt, and GB continued to grow. GB Glace entered Finland in 1994, and by 2013 the Finnish operation had been integrated and GB Glace ceased to exist as a separate brand there. In 1996 GB Glace became a wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever, and in 1998 its logo was updated to the familiar Unilever heart.

In 2005 GB faced criticism over a Nogger Black advertisement viewed as offensive by some. Nogger, a nougat-filled ice cream, has been a staple since 1979. In 2011 Unilever bought the Finnish rival Ingman Ice Cream, and by 2013 GB Glace’s Finnish operations were fully integrated. Today, GB Glace continues as part of Unilever’s Heartbrand, producing many of the same products as Langnese in Germany.