Years ago a reporter asked me to name some supermarket foods I wouldn’t be embarrassed to serve to
company.
Frozen Dairy Dessert
Breyers Viennetta was one of my answers. Each flavor contained attractively layered folds of ice cream and crisp dark chocolate. It was elegant, convenient and tasty.
This week, a publicist approached me with the exciting news that Unilever is bringing Viennetta back for the holidays. She wrote,
“With a suggested retail price under $3.00, this frozen dessert cake of soft, rippling vanilla or chocolatey waves and crackling chocolatey layers allows hostesses to present a casually elegant dessert that won’t break the bank.”
Wow, I thought, this Viennetta is less expensive than the previous version. Not!
The original 15-ounce version was made with yummy Breyers Ice Cream; this 12-ounce one is a frozen dairy dessert, available until February 2009. That means instead of ice cream, this Viennetta consists of — nonfat milk, sugars, whey, cocoa, propylene glycol monoesters, cellulose gels, mono and diglycerides, locust bean gum, polysorbate 80, guar gum, natural flavor and carrageenan.
I would never think of serving this chemical version of Viennetta. But — in hopes that the folks from Unilever are reading this — I’ll ask, how about bringing the Breyers ice cream version back?
These are better photos
Vienetta frozen dairy dessert…made with all kinds of fillers..no real Ice Cream added. Not available anymore.
http://tinyurl.com/c5tghzu
Unilever Vienetta from Europe… their web site. They only have Vanilla and Cocolate now. My sister liked the coffee one, and Price Harry in 2009 was addicted to the mint version. Look at my posts above. I don’t see the mint, or th coffee anymore
http://www.streets.com.au/products/vienetta.aspx
This is the Breyers original Vienetta available in the US until 1990. It is the same recipe sold in Europe now called Streets Vienetta made by Unilever. I don’t know why they don’t bring it back to the US!
http://tinyurl.com/cbz4sf7
Now Vienetta has a new look but is the same taste as ever. Its now in Vanilla, Banana, Mint, Caramel, Cafe and Strawberry any plans to bring back “Chocalate Creation or even Biscuit Sircuation versions”.
Martin what do you mean/ Where did find Vienetta? Thank you!
I’m boycotting Breyers and Unilever until Vienetta comes back! Irene
Great idea.. Me, too! Sad when they stop making good products
Shelley Ward,
I see that for awhile you were answering questions, and relaying comments to the PTB. Would a lot more comments, polls, e-signatures, or on-line voting campaign help to bring this ice cream back into production? How many people asking for it would it take to persuade the manufacturers to get back to work? Maybe we can all get together and picket?
Sorry to share with all you Viennetta lovers that — I just heard from a Breyers representative who unfortunately said that they still do not have plans to bring back Viennetta.
They added — though — that they are always listening to consumer feedback and appreciate it.
Bonnie,
That’s nice to hear.
Perhaps they are not really listening though 🙁
Time for the original Unilever regional sales manager who introduced Viennetta into the United States to respond. If the current Unilever manager wants my advice and or thoughts regarding what was once one of the Top 10 selling items in the West (Vanilla)contact me to discuss further. WE CAN CREATE A SUCCESS STORY AGAIN !
Eric Egland
Thanks Eric for your comment. I again reached out to Unilever for another response. Let’s see if we can get them into the conversation.
I heard back from Liza Amling, the GolinHarris PR representative — as I shared Eric Egland’s comment.
She wrote,
“The information we shared with you earlier this week is still representative of the current situation. If anyone has additional questions or comments, they should feel free to reach out to our Consumer Services team at consumer.services@Unilever.com.”
I guess they have no desire to discuss bringing back Viennetta
I just had my first viennetta in more than 10 years.When i tasted it last night, it looked different in terms of the amount of chocolate you get and the layers. It also tasted completely different from how i remembered as a child. It honestly just tastes like a fluffy mcdonalds soft serve with tid bits of chocolate. And googling this led me to your site. I am so disappointed by this crappy streets version!
Amen! It IS different. … it is now a “frozen dessert” and no longer creamy ice cream.
Good point Sam, also at least in my local supermarket it is not in the ice cream section but in the frozen pie and cake section. After eating Vienetta a few times I have concluded it has a sort of nutri-sweet chocolate flavor, the kind you would get at DQ or MCD’s when you order a sundae. Also its is priced far to low at about $2.50, one cannot believe it is made with suitable ingredients.
Man, I miss that stuff!!! I remember when growing up, our parents would get that for us every once in a great while add a treat for us. They got it so seldomly that whenever we did get to have some, it was pretty much like a delicacy. Man, I wish Bryers would bring the line back!!! Someone ought to start up a petition on Change.com in hopes that they’ll make it happen!!! ;D
OMG! All I want for Christmas is a Vienetta ice cream cake…for real.
I’m deeply saddened that I am unable to let my partner try this delicious treat. I used to eat it in the early 2000’s and didn’t even realize it was discontinued until I was craving in it 2009 and went crazy looking for it in stores in CA. Till this day I still bring it up. Please Breyers bring the OG Veinetta back!! If you change your minds and decide to at least do mass advertising for it so the public knows when it’ll be brought back even for a short time. Eating this wonderful dessert one last time would me amazing!!
I’ve looked for Viennetta many times over the years as the craving struck me. We’re preparing for a baby shower now and my sister brought it up and what a favorite it was when we were growing up, and we’d have loved to have it. I might attempt a homemade version but there’s no way it’ll live up to the original. So whatever good it may do to add my entire family’s voices to the rest – please bring back Viennetta!
Here is the closest thing we will come to the classic. I too have searched many times for this wonderful dessert. http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/homemade-viennetta.html
This is from Christy Jordan at Southern Plate.
Thanks for sharing, this sounds promising. I’ll be making this very soon. I’ll probably go w/ Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla. Can’t wait to try it!
Bring the old school version back!! I would love to share it with my children just as my dad shared it with me.
This weekend I made the recipe supplied by Emma, & w/ pretty good results. I will make it again, w/ these 2 slight changes (to the way I made it). Christy Jordan is right, use the best vanilla ice cream you can get your hands on. The best I had available to me was Hood Natural Bean Vanilla, the next time I will use either Breyer’s Natural Bean Vanilla (which makes sense) or Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla or possibly Blue Bunny Vanilla. Also, I wasn’t shy w/ the Magic Shell sauce, the next time I will lightly lace it w/ the sauce, as a little seems to go a long way. I guess you could say I sorta’ crocheted it w/ the sauce. I liked it this time, I think the next time I will like it even better. I do recommend trying it!
Oh, also, what I did was peel the carton off of the ice cream & then I cut it into 1/3’s, lengthwise, instead of scooping it out. Much cleaner that way & easier to drag a pick through, too.
I, too, desire Viennetta. I want it–NOW!!
http://worth1000.s3.amazonaws.com/submissions/14221000/14221462_58c2_1024x2000.jpg
My husband and I used to buy Viennette regularly, but last time we bought it it tasted completely different. The ice cream was icy and not creamy as it used to be. The flavour was different. It was not the pleasant dessert we were used to. Has it changed manufacturer? We live in Western Australia. We both agree that we won’t be buying it again. Disappointing.
Reminder: Here is a really good homemade version of Viennetta.
Read all instrucions thoroughly before starting especially about how one of the sauces is an alternative method. http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/homemade-viennetta.html
I’ve just eaten Mint Vienetta for the first time in a long time! It was a pleasant dessert to feast on. The greatest part of my course was the memory it brought back; When I was served this treat as a youngster, I was amazed at the layers and nice portion size. This is indeed a value product for your next party 🙂
I miss this product! Bring it back to California! It is absolute HEAVEN. I only had the chocolate once (never found it again), but the vanilla was also fantastic.
BRING IT BACK!!!
I’m pregnant and literally woke up CRAVING Vienetta!!! Please someone at unilever or Breyers listen to the masses… FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY BRING IT BACK TO US!!!!! 🙌🏻
Hello good people!
I spent much of a Saturday morning reading through all these posts after my husband and I got to talking about how much we missed Vienetta!! You guys are great! The royal family connection is brilliant. Vienetta was a delicate dessert that could double as art with it’s delicate layers and folds. I miss it!! If you want some fun watch this video of Vienetta being made in an ice cream factory: https://www.eater.com/2016/4/6/11379472/viennetta-how-its-made
Last night I made the homemade version: http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/homemade-viennetta.html
I used Breyers vanilla and magic shell. I sliced the ice cream into about 7 layers rather than 3 (easier with a cake slicer and flat metal spatula). I let it freeze over night and will try tonight. If good, I will try next time with coffee ice cream. Good luck to all of you. Breyers, I’m sure the machinery is expensive and space consuming, but the USA deserves this fancy conconction!! As the pregnant woman before me said so well, “for the love of all that is holy bring it back to us!!!”
If you contact Nestle USA, we can request Dolcetto be sold in the US, not just Canada. It’s a lot like Viennetta.
Will it ever come back
I use to buy it all the time
There is nothing else like it
Bring it back
Vienetta once u have one bite you never forget it
I going to Europe and hope the still have it
Many restaurants hat it in desert menu
Here hoping
I want it back in texas…..so unique and delicious.
Breyers, PLEASE bring back Vienetta!! I have been craving this amazing dessert for a really long time! My grandparents always used to bring it over for dessert, when we had a family dinner. All of my family loved it! We miss Vienetta! Please, oh please, Breyers, bring it back, even if it’s only something seasonal! Thank you!
My husband and I were remembering when we could get Vienetta and how much we loved it. We’d love to be able to have it again. Going to Europe to do so just isn’t in our budget. Please help us!
Wish we could assist. We’ve contacted the company a number of times. Sadly, there’s currently no plan to bring it back.
You guys should take notes from the folks behind the SURGE MOVEMENT to bring back the discontinued 90s Fully Loaded Citrus Soda. They’d do weekly regular mass phone calls and even took collections to buy a billboard next to Coca-Cola HQ taunting them over how much money they could be making selling that soda that the fans used instead to buy a billboard (over 5k). Over time they got the soda brought back after much rejection from coke with the original recipe! I can now find it in drink and slushie form in burger King restaurants!! You all surely know the phrase “Squeaky wheel gets the grease.” If you want classic viennetta back you guys need to start a movement, get a twitter hash tag going and put REAL effort into your dreams. Don’t long and bemoan STAND UP AND SHOW THEM WHAT CUSTOMER DEMAND LOOKS LIKE. 🙂
Omg, I talk about Viennetta and how I used to have my mom but this for me everytime I went grocery shopping with her back in the late 90’s.Man do I miss it .It would be awesome I’d they did bring it back even if they do it seasonal like egg nog or something. Bring Viennetta back.
Viennetta was something special for my wife and I, when we were dating, and became our go to desert for our anniversary. Until it disappeared. Even now, 20 years later, my wife is still bummed by this, and I have to admit, so am I. Viennetta needs to return, in its original form, not this ‘frozen dairy product’ crap they have now, in some places…
Joe, Thanks for sharing your Viennetta love story!
Sadly last I asked, Nestle only has the fake “ice cream” now with no plans to bring back the beloved original one.
Good news Viennetta folks it’s back! https://www.delish.com/food-news/a35129810/viennetta-ice-cream-cakes-return-2021/?utm_campaign=socialflowFBDEL&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media&fbclid=IwAR0dr2m5mO89omntceGzPHk8MmhD_-V9aKU6GqJpcKCuBAvKx11EKEhYXt0
Ayy! That article above brought me to this old thread! So excited to enjoy it again! Cheers everyone!
Yes except you can’t find it anywhere I’m in MN and got some in WI 3 hrs away from me in a blizzard bought 9 of them.
I was excited to hear it was back, so I ran to the store and bought 4 boxes. It is now produced by Good Humor but what a disappointment. It is not the same as what was sold in the 1990s. It does not taste creamy like ice cream anymore. The second ingredient is coconut oil And that is what it taste like, or at best ice milk, and in some areas it felt (and tasted) like I was eating ice crystals. It taste nothing like the Breyers viennetta, and not as attractive either. The good humor version has no real definition or layer design on the sides. It also looks smaller than I remember. I was in Spain four years ago and found them at Aldi’s, but were a hearts brand, either streets or walls. Apparently, the good humor version is supposed to be the same, but the one’s I bought in Spin were definitely bigger, more defined and tasted better. So sad. Maybe someday Breyer will bring back their version.
I stumbled across it quite by accident this afternoon while shopping. It’s been so very long since I tasted the original that I no longer remember exactly what it tasted like, but I do know that it tasted better than the new Good Humor brand version. Having said that, I do have to say that the crispy chocolate layers are very good, it’s a nice, rich, dark chocolate. In the original the crispy layers were a lot wider, they only comprise the middle third of the cake, w/ the outer two thirds being vanilla ice cream (or milk). However, not having access to the original lo these many decades has me willing to probably purchase this from time to time. For me this is definitely better than nothing! 😀
Thanks, for sharing Jeanne. So many in this conversation will be thrilled to know. Is the one you found called Viennetta?