I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
Product type Margarine
Owner Unilever
Country United States, United Kingdom
Introduced 1981[1]
Markets Global
Website www.icantbelieveitsnotbutter.com

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a spread brand[2][3] produced by Unilever.[4]

History

The J.H. Filbert company, based in Baltimore, Maryland, developed the product in 1979 as a low cost alternative to butter for the food service industry.[5] The retail branding has its origin with a comment by the husband of a company secretary when sampling the product, and it was first marketed to retail consumers in 1981.[1][5] The company was acquired by Unilever in 1986. Unilever expanded sales of the product, previously only available primarily in the Washington/Baltimore area, throughout the United States in 1988, and later to the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico in 1991.[6][7][8][9] The product was put on the market in Germany in 2011 and in Chile in 2012.

Varieties

In addition to a regular and 'light' spread, Unilever also uses the brand name to market a liquid butter substitute contained in a spray-bottle.[10] This product is an emulsion of vegetable oil in water formulated with a 'hint' of butter flavor (derived from buttermilk) and is marketed as having zero calories and zero fat content.[11]

Consumer sales

United States

It was reported in July 2005 (per research from the market research company Information Resources) that the product at that time led in product sales for its category of margarines, butter blends and spreads at $244.7 million USD,[10] summarized from 52 weeks up to July 10, 2005.[10]

But by 2012 the situation had changed. It was reported in 2012 by Euromonitor International that while sales of butter and spreadable oil fell, margarine sales increased by 1.1 percent but sales of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter fell by 3.9 percent 7 percent of sales at Unilever consists of spreads with a heavy on butter substitutes with the figures indicating that they are in decline.[12]

In 2016, there have been $248.4 million sold of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and $47.7 million of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light. [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lazarus, George (June 1, 1981). "Filbert can't believe you won't like its new butter blend". Chicago Tribune. ("Filbert has moved into the Syracuse, Albany, and Pittsburgh markets with a one-pound blend called "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter."") (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Calvani, Terry. Antiturst Law Journal, 1989, "Advertising Regulation: The States v. FTC. "...a nationally distributed butter substitute, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.'")
  3. ↑ Cerklewski, F.L. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2005, "Calcium fortification of food can add unneeded dietary phosphorus". "...and butter substitute (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter..."
  4. ↑ "Brands for life". Unilever. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Unilever Corporate History". Unilever. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ Wyman, Carolyn (2004). Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed The Way We Eat. Quirk Books. pp.50-52. ISBN 1931686424
  7. ↑ "I can't believe it's not Butter!". Unilever(United Kingdom). Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". Unilever (Canada). Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  9. ↑ Jones, Geoffrey (2005). Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 102-03. ISBN 0199269432
  10. 1 2 3 Elliott, Stuart (July 26, 2005). "I Can't Believe It's Not a TV Ad!". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ Amanda MacMillan. "Better: Butter-substitute sprays". Health Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Margarine : Unilever can't believe it's not selling". Bloomberg. July 31, 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Sales leading margarine/spreads brands U.S. 2016 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved 2016-07-29.

Additional sources

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