Ijs ice cream

Ijs simply means 'ice' or 'ice cream' in Dutch and refers to the generic category of frozen dairy or water-based desserts. When referring to branded commercial ice cream found in the Netherlands and Belgium, the market is dominated by global players. Historically, many local brands were merged into larger conglomerates.

Today, the most prominent ice cream brands available in this region, such as Magnum, Cornetto, and Hertog, are owned by Unilever. Other major competitors include Nestlé (often via the Froneri joint venture) and various private labels produced by European dairy cooperatives. Manufacturing is distributed across numerous specialized factories throughout Europe to ensure supply chain efficiency and product freshness.