Mr Whippy

Mr Whippy or Mister Whippy (in the United States) is the name used by various manufacturers, distributors and sellers of ice cream and frozen yogurt around the world. Mr Whippy originated in the United Kingdom in 1958, selling soft serve ice cream to the public from mobile vans. The brand merged with Wall's in 1964. Other companies with the same name operate in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany and the United States.

Mr Whippy (or Mister Whippy)
Company and franchise
IndustryFood
Retail
Direct service
FoundedIn the UK, in 1958
Key people
Peter Woodhams
ProductsFrozen yogurt
Soft serves
Beverages
Websitemrwhippy.com.au
mrwhippy.co.nz

Mr Whippy commenced operations in Australia in 1962 and in New Zealand in 1964.[1][2] The company's operation in Australia continued until the mid-1970s, after which the mobile fleet was sold to private operators. Approximately 200 UK built Commer Karrier vans were imported to Australia and 50 Austins were imported into New Zealand.

In 1982, the trademark "Mr Whippy" was registered in Australia by ice cream parlour company Mr Whippy Pty Ltd, though the name "Mr Whippy" continues in common parlance to refer to soft serve ice cream served in a cone. Today, the Franchised Food Company owns the brand.

In New Zealand, there are around 36 Mr Whippy franchisees operating 58 vans. General Foods Limited (subsequently Tip Top) acquired the master franchise rights for NZ in the early 1980s. The Isuzu Elf became the standard Mr Whippy van and an orange and white colour scheme replaced the original pink and white. In early 2000, Tip Top sold the master franchise to Peter Woodhams, the Waikato Mr Whippy franchisee, who in turn sold the master franchise to Flying Kiwi Holdings (a business owned and run by Nick Cairns, Scot and Geliana Graham) in 2006. The Mr Whippy vans became modernised, using Ford Transit and Fiat Ducato models, various Fuso variants and Tatua replaced Fonterra Brands NZ as the provider of the Mr Whippy UHT ice cream mix.

Mr Whippy Australia
Company and franchise
IndustryFood
Retail
Direct service
ProductsFrozen yogurt
Soft serves
Beverages
ParentFranchised Food Company
Websitemrwhippy.com.au
1961 Karrier van; Mr. Whippy Ice Cream—original at the Albert Dock in Liverpool, UK in May 2013.

This particular vehicle was in fact originally a Mister Softee van and was restored as a Mr Whippy as can be seen by the additional lower curved side window going back to the serving hatch.

A Mr. Whippy ice cream truck is seen in the Beatles film Help! (1965).

Mr. Whippy was a song by Australian singer John Farnham, as the B-side to "One". It was referenced in the Australian show Wentworth (prison), season 3 episode 8.

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in Harry Potter's films) bought a 1974 Mr. Whippy Bedford van to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an ice cream man. He drives around local villages, giving free ice creams and lollipops to children.

References
  1. "Mr Whippy licked into shape for summer". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. "Heat on Mr Whippy imitators". The West Australian. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.