From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

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 Candies to mass-produce them under the new trademarked name "Eskimo Pie" (a name suggested by Mrs. Stover). 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.

In an apparent case of parallel development, the Eskimo Pie was also sold by Neilson Dairy in Toronto, Canada starting in 1921. The summer treat was a means to combine two of the company's products, ice cream and milk chocolate, into one product.

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.

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.

Eskimo Pie brand confectionery was until recently sold by CoolBrands International, a Canadian company that acquired Eskimo Pie Corporation in 2000. On January 24, 2007, CoolBrands announced the sale of its Eskimo Pie and Chipwich brands to Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, an indirect subsidiary of Nestlé.

• Klondike bar
• Chipwich

• History of the Eskimo Pie, from the Smithsonian Institution
• Official website of the Eskimo Pie
• Neilson Dairy history
• U.S. Patent 1,404,539 
• CoolBrands press release announcing sale of Eskimo Pie to Dreyer's