HB Ice Cream

HB Ice Cream is an Irish ice-cream brand with roots in the Hughes Brothers dairy business, established in 1926 at Hazelbrook Farm in Churchtown, Dublin. The initials HB originally referred to Hughes Brothers and Hazelbrook Farm, linking the brand to both the founding family and the farm where the business began. Over time, HB became one of Ireland’s best-known ice-cream names and developed a portfolio that combined internationally distributed Heartbrand products with ranges created specifically for the Irish market. The brand’s identity has historically been closely connected to Ireland’s retail ice-cream culture. Its products have included frozen treats sold through grocery, convenience, and impulse channels, as well as blocks of ice cream associated with the Hazelbrook Farm name. The Hazelbrook Farm designation disappeared during the Second World War and was later revived in the late 1980s. From 2002 to 2005, the revived range was marketed under the name HB Originals. HB has also produced or marketed confectionery, chocolate products, and frozen yoghurt at different points in its history, although ice cream remains its central category. HB’s product activity covers much of the Heartbrand family’s ice-cream range, while also retaining Irish-market products and variants. A distinctive feature of its block-ice-cream range is the use of colour coding for flavours: vanilla has been associated with blue, mint chocolate with mint green, honeycomb with a honey tone, banana with yellow-brown, strawberry and raspberry ripple with pink, and caramel with a caramel shade. This visual system gives the range a recognisable shelf presence and connects the products with long-running Irish brand memories. The company’s corporate history reflects consolidation in the dairy and packaged-food sectors. HB’s milk-distribution operations were transferred to Premier Dairies in 1964, while the remaining business was sold to W. R. Grace and Company. HB subsequently became part of Unilever in 1973. The Churchtown ice-cream plant closed in 2003, resulting in the loss of 180 jobs and ending the brand’s historic manufacturing presence at its original Dublin site. The brand continued after the closure as part of a wider branded ice-cream organisation rather than as an independent local manufacturer. In its current market context, HB is connected with The Magnum Ice Cream Company and operates within the wider Heartbrand network. In Northern Ireland, HB products have been presented alongside Wall’s, the United Kingdom expression of the Heartbrand, in joint HB Wall’s promotions. This arrangement reflects the brand’s position at the intersection of the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom ice-cream markets, where neighbouring Heartbrand identities can coexist. Advertising has been an important part of HB’s cultural presence. Its campaigns have used slogans including “Two Letters Spell Ireland’s Favourite Ice Cream” and “Still The Favourite,” while television advertising from the 1960s onward helped establish the brand’s familiarity. In 2016, HB marked its ninetieth anniversary by returning historic television adverts to broadcast. A selection of older advertisements was also made available through the Irish Film Archive in 2017. The brand has therefore been promoted not only through new products but also through nostalgia, archival material, and the preservation of Irish advertising history.

HB Ice Cream originated in 1926 when James, George, and William Hughes established Hughes Brothers at Hazelbrook Farm in Churchtown, Dublin. The farm became an important part of the company’s early identity, and the initials HB were associated with both Hughes Brothers and Hazelbrook Farm. The business developed from a local dairy and ice-cream operation into a recognisable Irish consumer brand. The Hazelbrook Farm name was dropped during the Second World War. It returned in the late 1980s as a label for products connected with the brand’s Irish heritage, although the range was renamed HB Originals between 2002 and 2005. Hazelbrook Farm’s historical connection was later reinforced when Hazelbrook House, the Hughes family farmhouse, was moved to Bunratty Folk Park in 2001. The building remains displayed there as part of the park’s public heritage collection. HB’s business changed substantially during the post-war period. In 1964, its milk-distribution operations were transferred to Premier Dairies. The remaining business was sold to W. R. Grace and Company and later became part of Unilever in 1973. These transactions separated elements of the original dairy operation from the branded ice-cream business and placed HB within larger corporate structures. The company also made sweets and chocolate during some periods, and it produced frozen yoghurt in 2002 and 2003. The brand’s manufacturing history at Churchtown ended in 2003, when the HB Ice Cream plant closed. The closure caused 180 job losses and marked a major turning point: HB continued as a consumer brand, but no longer operated from the site where its ice-cream history had begun. The closure was part of the broader evolution of the brand under corporate ownership and within increasingly consolidated international ice-cream operations. HB products have included much of the Heartbrand ice-cream range, alongside products developed specifically for the Irish market. The Hazelbrook Farm block range has been particularly associated with colour-coded flavours, including blue packaging or presentation for vanilla, mint green for mint chocolate, honey tones for honeycomb, yellow-brown for banana, pink for strawberry and raspberry ripple, and caramel shades for caramel. The range’s visual language helped distinguish it in the Irish market. The brand has also shared a relationship with neighbouring Heartbrand identities. Wall’s is the United Kingdom variant of the Heartbrand, while Miko is used in France and Ola in the Netherlands. In Northern Ireland, HB and Wall’s have both been available and, in more recent promotions, have appeared under the combined HB Wall’s presentation. This reflects the practical overlap between Irish and British ice-cream markets while retaining HB’s Irish identity. Advertising has played a significant role in HB’s longevity. The brand used the slogan “Two Letters Spell Ireland’s Favourite Ice Cream” in the late 1970s and early 1980s, followed by “Still The Favourite” in the mid-1980s. Some advertising concepts were adapted for sister brands in other countries. During the 1990s, the brand also promoted products such as Cool Bits. For its ninetieth anniversary in 2016, HB brought historic advertisements from its television archive back to viewers. In 2017, advertisements from the 1960s and 1970s were made available through the Irish Film Archive, giving the brand’s advertising history a public preservation context. HB is now part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Its present identity combines Irish brand heritage with participation in an international ice-cream portfolio. The brand’s future-facing heritage plans have included a proposed centenary display in 2026, involving archival material and related sister brands such as Wall’s, Miko, and Ola.

• 2026

  Planned centenary archive display

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The brand and related sister brands were described as planning an archive display and restoration of historic HB advertising for the brand’s centenary.

• 2017

  Historic advertising entered the Irish Film Archive

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  Advertising from the 1960s and 1970s was made available through the Irish Film Archive.

• 2016

  Ninetieth anniversary advertising campaign

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  HB commemorated its ninetieth anniversary by rebroadcasting historic television advertising.

• 2003

  Churchtown ice-cream plant closed

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The historic Churchtown plant closed, with 180 jobs lost.

• 2001

  Hazelbrook House moved to Bunratty Folk Park

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The Hughes family farmhouse, Hazelbrook House, was moved to Bunratty Folk Park for public display.

• 1980

  Hazelbrook Farm identity revived

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The Hazelbrook Farm name returned in the late 1980s after having been dropped during the Second World War.

• 1973

  HB becomes part of Unilever

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  After ownership by W. R. Grace and Company, HB became part of Unilever.

• 1964

  Milk-distribution operations transferred

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  HB’s milk-distribution activities were transferred to Premier Dairies while the rest of the business continued through a separate corporate path.

• 1926

  Hughes Brothers established at Hazelbrook Farm

  [1]HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  James, George, and William Hughes founded the business at Hazelbrook Farm in Churchtown, Dublin, establishing the origins of HB Ice Cream.

A familiar Irish ice-cream brand combining national heritage, colourful block-ice-cream products, and access to the wider Heartbrand portfolio.

• Ice-cream blocks

  Hazelbrook Farm ice-cream blocks

  An Irish-market range of block ice creams linked to HB’s original farm heritage. The range has used a colour-coded visual system for flavours, with different colours associated with vanilla, mint chocolate, honeycomb, banana, strawberry, raspberry ripple, caramel, and other varieties. The Hazelbrook Farm name was revived in the late 1980s and was temporarily marketed as HB Originals from 2002 to 2005.

• Packaged ice cream

  HB Heartbrand range

  HB manufactures or markets much of the Heartbrand ice-cream range for the Irish market. The range places HB within a broader family of country-specific ice-cream brands, while retaining HB packaging and market identity in Ireland.

• Frozen desserts · 2002

  Frozen yoghurt

  HB made frozen-yoghurt products during 2002 and 2003. The available reference material does not establish whether these products remain in the current portfolio.

• Frozen novelty

  Cool Bits

  A lolly-style product associated with HB’s mid-1990s activity. It formed part of the brand’s broader frozen novelty and impulse-product presence.

• 2017Irish Film Archive advertising preservation

  Ireland

  Historic HB advertisements from the 1960s and 1970s were made available through the Irish Film Archive.

  Outcome. The material became accessible as part of Ireland’s preserved advertising heritage.

  Source
• 2016HB 90th anniversary advertising revival

  Ireland

  HB returned television advertisements from 1961 onward to television screens as part of its ninetieth-anniversary celebrations.

  Outcome. The campaign used nostalgia and historical advertising to mark the brand’s longevity.

  Source
• 1985Still The Favourite

  Ireland

  HB used the “Still The Favourite” line in mid-1980s advertising, reinforcing continuity and established consumer recognition.

  Outcome. The phrase became associated with the brand’s mid-1980s advertising period.

  Source
• 1975Two Letters Spell Ireland’s Favourite Ice Cream

  Ireland

  A late-1970s and early-1980s advertising line connected the HB initials with the brand’s Irish market leadership and national familiarity.

  Outcome. The slogan became one of the brand’s remembered advertising phrases.

  Source

• 2003

  Close the Churchtown ice-cream plantStrategy

  Background

  The Churchtown site was the historic location of HB’s ice-cream operations.

  Action taken

  The HB Ice Cream plant in Churchtown was closed.

  Aftermath

  The closure resulted in 180 job losses and ended manufacturing at the brand’s original Dublin site.

  Source

• 2002

  Introduce frozen-yoghurt productsProduct launch

  Background

  HB expanded beyond conventional ice cream during the early 2000s.

  Action taken

  The company made frozen yoghurt in 2002 and 2003.

  Aftermath

  The products are documented as a historical extension of HB’s frozen-dessert range; current availability is not specified.

  Source

• 1973

  HB becomes part of UnileverM&A

  Background

  The business had previously been sold to W. R. Grace and Company.

  Action taken

  HB subsequently became part of Unilever.

  Aftermath

  The Irish brand operated within a large international consumer-goods group.

  Source

• 1964

  Separate the milk-distribution operationStrategy

  Background

  HB’s original business included milk distribution as well as ice-cream activity.

  Action taken

  The milk-distribution operations were transferred to Premier Dairies.

  Aftermath

  The remaining HB business followed a separate ownership and corporate path.

  Source

1. 1HB Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org