this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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Buy European

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[–] baropithecus@lemmy.world 153 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Haagen Dazs never had anything to do with Europe, it was started in the Bronx by a dude that wanted the name to sound posh so he went for a vaguely Danish sounding name.

[–] Rothe@piefed.social 65 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

vaguely Danish sounding name

And creating something that doesn't have the slightest resemblance to Danish, even using a letter "ä" which isn't in the Danish alphabet.

[–] 0x0 33 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

To be fair, Danes themselves seem only able to resemble their own language, can't really blame an outsider for no resemblance at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk

[–] Cavemanfreak@programming.dev 11 points 2 weeks ago

Kamelåså!

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] mko@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Except that the video was done by NRK - Norwegian national TV. All the Nordic countries can be brutal at heckling each other - all in good fun.

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Swede. Norwegian. Potato. Potato.

They're just mad because we used to own their asses and had a flag so awesome they got jelly and copied our design.

Denmark superior country. 👏 and don't kid yourself into thinking we are compensating because our nature is flat chested af and 60% is spent on growing pig food instead of protecting wildlife. And we are totally not ass mad that there is no tone or life in our language that more so resemble throat cancer than song when we speak. DENMARK COOL. DENMARK AWESOME. Sweden lame. Norway gay. DENMARK DENMARK DENMARK.

[–] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 12 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It’s pretty German. Nothing to do with Danish.

[–] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 27 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Very little resemblance to German either. Words with "äa" aren't a thing, neither are words that end in "zs".

[–] NachBarcelona@piefed.social 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Was für ein präambelartiges Witzsegment von einem Kommentar.

[–] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 9 points 2 weeks ago

Compound words are cheating, but you got me with Präambel!

[–] meldrik@lemmy.wtf 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Not the spelling yes, but both “Hagen” and “Das” is German.

[–] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Coincidentally yes, Hagen is a place name and das means "the". In that combination it's absolute gibberish though and Häagen Dazs' founder probably had no idea about those meanings. He was trying to make it sound Danish. In his own words:

“The only country which saved the Jews during World War II was Denmark, so I put together a totally fictitious Danish name and had it registered,” Mattus told me. “Häagen-Dazs doesn’t mean anything. [But] it would attract attention, especially with the umlaut.” Source

[–] Nangijala@feddit.dk 4 points 2 weeks ago

Bruh, am I high or is that factually incorrect that we were the only country saving jews during ww2? I mean, my national ego would love for us to take credit for such a feat, but I feel like there were people in every country who tried to save the jews in one way or another. It was a collaborative effort, no? I especially feel like he did Poland dirty. Holy shit the effort some people went to in that country to protect and save Jewish lives. I mean fuck.

Homeboy literally made a chocolate brand and gave it a vaguely Danish name that sounds nothing like Danish because of a misperception about ww2. Peak ignorance.

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[–] schnapsman@feddit.org 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm certain OP meant Dutch.

[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 52 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Fuck Milka and their shrinkflation.

[–] glorkon@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

So true. They "won" the "Mogelpackung des Jahres 2025" award in Germany ("deceptive packaging of the year 2025"). Absolutely fuck them with a big chocolate dick.

That being said, I kinda stopped buying cheap chocolate with soy lecithine and all the other crap in it anyway. Chocolate with real cocoa butter just tastes better, I think. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

There are some smaller companies that make much better quality chocolate for a still reasonable price. A fine example would be Rausch.

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[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I thought haagen dazs never was european and it was just named to sound vaguely foreign and high end to american and japanese people

[–] stylusmobilus@aussie.zone 12 points 2 weeks ago

Pretty sure that’s correct.

[–] Harvey656@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Seems like the last time this can be used.

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[–] protist@mander.xyz 26 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is a nice thought, but both American and European multinational corporations don't give a fuck where or how something is made as long as they're making money. Many of the products sold by Mondelez in Europe are in fact made in Europe, and some even have headquarters and administration in Europe. The same thing is true in reverse for companies like Unilever (London) and Nestle (Switzerland) when they're selling in the US.

A better approach than scolding only 4 brands (when there are literally thousands you want to boycott) is to focus on buying as much of your food as possible from independent, local sources.

[–] SmackemWittadic@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

Fuck Mondelez & Nestlé they are the epitome of corporate greed

[–] roserose56@lemmy.zip 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I learned that Toblerone had a different brand icon that changed once they moved production.

[–] huppakee@piefed.social 52 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The Swiss government made them change it. No production in Switzerland means no profiting off Swiss icons.

[–] Muscle_Meteor@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 weeks ago

Wish Canada would do this, fuck tim hortons

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Fun fact, which has unfortunately become completely meaningless since the US company Mondelēz (formerly Kraft Foods) has bought the brand: Since around 2000, the Toblerone logo has featured a mountain, the Matterhorn, a well recognized symbol of Switzerland. Hidden in the silhouette of the mountain is a bear, the heraldic animal of the Swiss city of Bern, where the brand was established in 1908.

"Toblerone" is a play on words combining the name "Tobler," the surname of one of the company's founders, and "Torrone," the Italian name for honey and almond nougat. The brand name also includes "Berne," which is the historical English spelling for the city of Bern.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Haven't bought a Toblerone since they did this to it.

[–] excral@feddit.org 9 points 2 weeks ago

Apparently I haven't bought one for some time either. WTF is this shit? That must be the most blatant and egregious case of shrinkflation I've ever seen

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[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

The brand name also includes “Berne,” which is the historical English spelling for the city of Bern.

The brand name also includes "Bern", which is the historical German spelling for the city of Bern.

[–] Andy_R@feddit.uk 4 points 2 weeks ago

That was actually a pretty clever logo.

[–] ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 19 points 2 weeks ago

Häagen -Dazs was never European. It was made and named by Americans, and the name is not any Danish or Nordic word. It was made up gibberish to make it sound like a fancy foreign ice cream to Americans.

[–] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] jagermo@feddit.org 11 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Still good.

Also, Toney Chocoloney

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[–] D0ntC4llM3Sh1rley@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

From what I know they’re still a german based company and are working with various coco farms across the world with good conditions.

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[–] gnarles_snarkley@beehaw.org 13 points 2 weeks ago

Häagen-Dazs was never European.

[–] FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 11 points 2 weeks ago

There has to be some kinda list or app somewhere out there for when you go shopping.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Does this mean Budweiser is European because it’s InBev?

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Budweiser originally refers to a Czech beer - Budějovický Budvar - brewed in České Budějovice (German: Budweis). Today there are two separate beers sold under the Budweiser name: the Czech original (often marketed as Budvar or, in some countries, Czechvar) and the US beer produced by Anheuser‑Busch. Trademark rights to the name "Budweiser" are divided by territory after long legal disputes: Anheuser‑Busch owns the Budweiser trademark in the United States and in many other markets, while Budějovický Budvar retains rights in other countries (in Germany for example).

So Budweiser was never really a US beer - it is just sold under this name to give the impression that it is a good beer, which the original is, but its US imitation never was.

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 6 points 2 weeks ago

To be fair, most of their products aren't really food either.

[–] Kjell@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not sure if it is applicable in other countries but at least in Sweden a reasonable switch would be:

Cote d'Or -> Lindt or Anthon Berg Milka -> Fazer or Tony´s chocolonely Toblerone -> Fazer Häagen-Dazs -> Lejonet och björnen or Sia glass

[–] MithranArkanere@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

What? Can't buy no more Milka? Chicago? CHICAGO?!
No more Milka, it is.
I'd rather buy that crappy Finm Carré Lidl chocolate that at least has Fairtrade certification.

[–] Frostbeard@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Scandinavian must buy Nidar (Orkla) or Fazer. Both Freia and Marabou are Mondelez

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