Unilever owns 50% of Strauss’ ice cream division. Danone owns 20% of Strauss’ dairy division. Strauss general manager Sholom Liran says Unilever has a clear policy regarding multinational brands. Magnum, Solero and Cornetto - all international names - are now sold in Israel. For the manufacturing process, Strauss uses Unilever’s development centers and quality control system.
A number of Strauss products have been replaced by Unilever ones. The Tilon ice cream cone - so entrenched in Israeli culture, the name has become a generic term - has been replaced by Cornetto. Says Liron: "Unilever surprised us when it transferred the know-how regarding Cornetto. We learned, down to the tiniest details, how much the Tilon could be improved, from how much chocolate to put in the bottom of the cone, to ice cream and wafer quality. We were afraid of losing Tilon, a popular product, but when we saw how much better Cornetto was, those fears were allayed. Today, Cornetto sales are far higher than Tilon’s were. We received knowledge that convinced us to bring in a world-wide brand name, and gave up a brand name that was a national institution".
Magnum ice cream on a stick was a similar story. Unilever brand name Magnum has replaced Strauss’ Monaco. The advertising strategy was changed: Unilever had final approval of the logo, as it does with its associates all over the world, in order to maintain uniformity.
Strauss says Unilever’s involvement has helped to improve basic products as well.
The introduction of Danone Bio yogurt has had a major impact on Strauss. "It wasn’t easy", says Liran. "In partnership with Danone, and with the assistance of Danone’s research center in Paris, we made our entire Danone product line Bio quality, meaning yogurt containing enzymes with high nutritional value".
Another Danone product, which Strauss has been manufacturing for years, is Danny, an international brand named after the son of Danone’s founder. Danny was introduced to Israel in 1972, using Danone know-how. Strauss’s Gamadim treats for kids are also made using Danone know-how but the latest development, frozen Gamadim fingers, "are a step ahead of Danone. They plan to adopt them [for wider distribution]".