- What're your favorite brands, and do you know their back story?
You love brands like Nike, McDonald’s and Levi’s, but what do you really know about them? Here are some of the craziest facts you didn’t know about your favorite brands.
Ben and Jerry’s
Whether it’s Topped Dirt Cake or New York Super Fudge Chunk, Ben and Jerry’s has some of our favorite and the most iconic ice cream flavors around. But did you know that the company wasn’t originally an ice cream company? Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wanted to open a bagel delivery company, but upon finding out the cost of bagel-making equipment, the two changed courses, and took a course on ice cream making. From there, they opened their first ice cream parlor, Ben and Jerry’s Homemade, in 1978.
Wrigley’s
This famous chewing gum was not the solid product at the time, and in fact, customers were given the gum with every purchase of the other item. What is it that Wrigley originally peddled? None other than scouring soap and baking powder. Customers got two free packages of the chewing gum with their purchase, which we all know is now the company’s main product today.
Adidas
What do shoes and baking have in common? Well, in this story, it’s the creator of Adidas, a wanna be baker turned shoemaker. Adi Dassler did an apprenticeship as a baker. He was born into a family of weavers though, and learned to stitch instead. Combining his love of sports and his ancestors’ trade, Dassler opened a small shoe production business and focused on specialized athletic footwear.
Subway
This chain sub shop was the healthiest fast food for years (before getting passed up by Taco Bell, gasp!) But the coolest part about this business is who started it, a college freshman. Did you know that? Fred DeLuca started his own business with a $1000 loan from a friend, to pay his tuition. The first Subway restaurant was opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut in August 1965.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, arguably the best motorcycle company, is known for it’s bikes. Harley motorcycles are as iconic as apple pie, but they did try out another product along the way as well. Harley was founded in 1903 in Milwaukee WI, which also happens to be my hometown. The company introduced its very first bicycle in 1917 to try and catch their customers early, as it were. The thought was if kids loved their Harley-Davidson bikes during childhood, then they would eventually want to buy motorcycles when they were old enough to ride them. Another cool fun fact about the company is it was started by one Harley and four Davidsons, and the five men collectively created this brand.
Nutella
This product has more history to it than you may think. During WWII, chocolate became very expensive and scarce. Italian pastry maker Pietro Ferrero added hazelnuts to cocoa, initially creating a chocolate loaf of sorts, to be thinly cut and enjoyed on bread. Eventually, his son added vegetable oil to make the mixture creamy and spreadable.
M&M’s
Even if you don’t like regular M&M’s, there’s one you’ve got to love. Between the peanut M&M’s, peanut butter or fudge filled, or even the milk chocolate honey kind, M&M’s are yummy and astronauts have been enjoying them in space since the 1981 Space Shuttle Columbia. The have them on board to eat, obviously, but they are also fans of playing with them, like children and gown up kiddos do. Who wouldn’t like to throw M&M’s into the air and catch them in their mouth in space? Super fun.
Rubik’s Cube
Rubik’s Cube, otherwise known as the best selling toy, ever? The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by an Architecture professor who wanted to teach his students about three-dimensional geometry. Since then, a staggering 450 million Rubik’s Cube have been sold starting in 1974. And if you still can’t figure out how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, know that you aren’t alone. It took the first person to ever solve the thing, Erno Rubik, the toys maker, a month to unscramble it.
The Adidas back story is my favorite, that he connected with his roots and took that talent and history into account for his story. Which brand fact was your favorite?