Good Humor is part of Unilever's Heartbrand family of ice creams that are sold in more than 40 countries around the world under many different local names including, Wall's and Algida. Among its products are ice creams that are lower in fat and sugar and enriched with fruit and calcium which have been developed through the brand’s innovative food technologies.
Commitment to quality - for 90 years
The Good Humor family of products has captured the hearts of American consumers with unique treats reminiscent of the good things in life. The first to "put a stick in ice cream", Good Humor is synonymous with family fun.
History
In 1920, Harry Burt, a Youngstown, Ohio candy maker, created a special treat called the Jolly Boy Sucker - a lollypop on a stick. The same year, while working at his ice cream parlor, Burt created a smooth chocolate coating that was compatible with ice cream. It tasted great, but the new combination was too messy to eat. So, Burt’s son Harry Jr. suggested freezing the wooden sticks that were used for Jolly Boy Suckers into the ice cream. It worked!
Burt called his creation the Good Humor Bar, capitalizing on the then widely held belief that a person’s "humor", or temperament was related to the humor of the palate (sense of taste). Convinced that he had something big on his hands, Burt filed for a patent and it took three years and a personal trip to Washington, D.C. with a five-gallon pail of Good Humor bars before Burt was finally granted exclusive rights to "ice cream on a stick".
The Good Humor corporation of America was formed
To market his new product, Burt sent out a fleet of 12 chauffeur-driven trucks, complete with bells. The Good Humor bar was an immediate success in Youngstown. Customers liked the fact that the ice cream was on a stick and the clean, wholesome and trustworthy image the Good Humor men in their white uniforms promoted.
Between 1921 and 1925, the availability of the Good Humor bar grew. Then, in 1926 after the death of her husband, Cora Burt took the company public with franchises costing just $100. During the next few years as Good Humor expanded into other parts of the Midwest, the Good Humor Corporation of America was formed. It acquired the patents and consolidated the operations of some of the franchised companies.
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