This past summer, I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast to begin college. I made many wonderful friends, all of whom are from the West Coast. One of our traditions is making weekly trips to the grocery store to stock up on college essentials (ice cream).
This is where the only point of conflict in my relationships began: Edy’s or Dreyer’s.
It was madness. I had grown up eating Edy’s ice cream! Simple chocolate, Rocky Road—all the flavors of my childhood. My grandfather has always been partial to Butter Pecan. Ever since I was a child, Edy’s ice cream was always a constant dessert delicacy.
One Wednesday night, I found myself at the neighborhood grocery store with my West Coast native friends. We walked in the store and made a beeline for the ice cream that would facilitate our "freshman 15." Upon approaching the ice cream case, my life was turned upside down. Not only was there no Edy’s ice cream, but in the exact same packaging was Dreyer’s ice cream.
Time stopped. The world stopped turning. Blood pulsed in my ears.
Was this a bad joke? Where was the ice cream I had grown up with? A young student needed a reminder of childhood from 3,000 miles away! I searched and searched, asked for help, and still could not find the Edy’s. I was seconds away from tears before I spotted the package design of my youth. I inspected the tub of ice cream with fear. What was this strange Dreyer’s ice cream?
I asked my friends why Dreyer’s had replaced the Edy’s. They had never heard of Edy’s. I insisted over and over that Edy’s ice cream not only existed, but is better. All of my friends thought I had lost my mind. I was determined to prove them wrong and redeem myself. I returned home without my Edy’s ice cream and began researching.
As it so happens, Dreyer’s ice cream is real, and so is Edy’s. I know it seems ridiculous that the two can exist simultaneously, but I promise I am telling the truth. Edy’s was originally founded in 1928 by Joseph Edy and William Dreyer in Oakland, California. In 1947, tragedy struck: Edy and Dreyer broke up, and their partnership dissolved. William Dreyer Jr. took over the company shortly after. As the company expanded, it adopted the name Edy’s to market east of the Rocky Mountains. To this day, the ice cream is marketed under the name Edy’s in the Midwest and the East, while masquerading as Dreyer’s in the West.
It had been a wild ride for both the ice cream company and myself, though just like adjusting to college, I learned to adjust to the brand of ice cream found on the West Coast and am better for it!
