Chipwich

The Chipwich is an ice cream sandwich made of ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies and rolled in chocolate chips.[2] The Chipwich name and logo is trademarked by Crave Better Foods, LLC based in Cos Cob, Connecticut.[3][4]

Studio photo of Chipwich ice cream sandwich
This article is about the ice cream cookie sandwich. For the potato chip sandwich, see Crisp sandwich.
Chipwich
Product typeIce cream cookie sandwich
OwnerCrave Better Foods (a United States limited liability corporation), Cos Cob, Connecticut
CountryU.S.
Introduced1978
MarketsUnited States
Previous ownersRichard LaMotta,[1] Sam Metzger, Chipwich, Dreyer's division of Nestlé

The original, created by Americans Richard LaMotta and Sam Metzger (1942–2010) in New York City in 1978, was made up of vanilla ice cream sandwiched by two chocolate chip cookies, with the sides rolled in chocolate chips, which stick to the ice cream.[5]

History

While ice cream sandwiches have been sold in New York City since the 1890s,[6] New York lawyer Richard LaMotta created the Chipwich in 1978. He introduced it to the city with a guerrilla marketing campaign, training sixty (mostly students) street cart vendors to sell the new product on the streets of New York, for a dollar each; this rapidly established Chipwich as a successful brand. Some twenty-five thousand Chipwiches were sold the first day, and within two weeks the company was selling 40,000 a day.[5][7]

The small, independent company struggled to find capital to expand. In 1984, burdened with heavy debt, Chipwich sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[8] By 1987, co-founders Metzger and LaMotta had reorganized the company and obtained a $1 million investment from Swedish holding company Hexagon AB, which guaranteed loans and licensed its products.[9] In 1992, the company was back in Chapter 11 bankruptcy after incurring a $1.4 million loss on sales of $4.8 million; an accounting scandal involving inventory overstatements at Peltz Food, a subsidiary headed by Robert Peltz, were at the root of much of the problem.[8]

Package for the Birthday Cake flavor Chipwich, introduced in 2020

CoolBrands International bought Chipwich in 2002, becoming North America's third-largest ice cream vendor. Due to a series of financial difficulties, which began with the loss of its Weight Watchers/Smart Ones frozen food licence in 2004,[10] CoolBrands sold Chipwich, Eskimo Pie and Real Fruit to the Dreyer's division of Nestlé in 2007.[11] This was part of a larger divestiture of core assets which left the company as little more than a publicly listed empty shell. By 2009, Nestlé had stopped production of the original Chipwich, reportedly because it competed with its own Toll House chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. [12]

The trademark was acquired in 2017 by Crave Better Foods, LLC of Cos Cob, Connecticut.[13] The product was relaunched in 2018 in the U.S.[14][15] In 2020, the brand introduced a new flavor, Birthday Cake, to its product line.[16]

Critical response

In May 2018, the New York Times described the Chipwich as the number-one treat in its article, "The 7 Greatest Packaged Frozen Treats, Ranked." The article describes the Chipwich as having "an ideal softness all the way through," with "mellow, comforting flavors." The review notes that the cookies and ice cream filling have matching consistencies, making it easy to eat.[17]

  • The Chipwich is mentioned as one of Doug's favorite snacks in The King of Queens.
  • Jessica Huang, the matriarch in the 1995 based ABC family drama, Fresh Off the Boat, eats a Chipwich in nearly every episode.
  • In the movie Spring Break (film) (1983), a few goons question the owner of a Chipwich cart while looking for a missing kid.
  • A Chipwich vendor and cart appears in an episode of the Fox Broadcasting Company television series, The Simpsons (season 4, episode 10, "Lisa's First Word").[18]
  • In the screwball comedy Mistress America (2015), Mamie-Claire & Dylan store Chipwiches next to their weed. Tony takes a Chipwich, but forgets to get one for his girlfriend Nicolette.

See also

References
  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/business/16lamotta.html
  2. The original brand has been purchased several times. Chocolate Chipwiches by Susan Whetzel is one example of a chipwich recipe.
  3. Crave Better Foods, LLC is the record holder of the CHIPWICH trademark: Serial No. 85051032, Registration No. 4062133.
  4. Bennett, Macaela J. (2018-06-27). "Greenwich resident brings back the Chipwich". GreenwichTime. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  5. "Dividends: War of the Chocolate Chips". Time. 1981-09-28. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  6. Raisfeld, Robin (2006-08-17). "Our Ice-Cream Sandwich Taste Test". New York. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  7. Hevesi, Dennis (2010-05-15). "Richard LaMotta, Inventor of the Chipwich, Dies at 67". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  8. "COMPANY NEWS; Problems at Chipwich Unit Result in Chapter 11 Filing". The New York Times. 1992-08-04. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  9. "Passing the Hat...Again". Inc. Magazine. 1990-09-01. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  10. "CoolBrands sells Eskimo Pie, Chipwich brands to Dreyer's". CBC News. 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  11. CoolBrands press release announcing sale of Chipwich to Dreyer's Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/business/16lamotta.html
  13. "The Return of the Chipwich: How N.J.'s original summer treat is making a comeback". NJ.com.
  14. Sherman, Elisabeth (2018-06-05). "The Iconic Chipwich is Making a Comeback This Summer". Food&Wine. ISSN 0741-9015. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  15. Maynard, Michelle (2018-08-19). "Doughnuts And Ice Cream, The Cool Treat You're Seeing Everywhere This Summer". Forbes. ISSN 0015-6914. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  16. Morillo, Alexis (2018-02-18). "Birthday Cake-Flavored Chipwiches Are Here And Way Better Than A Boring Cake". delish. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  17. "The 7 Greatest Packaged Frozen Treats, Ranked". The New York Times. 2018-05-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  18. "Lisa's First Word, "The Simpsons", S04E10". 1989. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
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