Story at a glance
- Some brands go by completely different names, depending on which half of the U.S. they’re being sold in.
- A lot of these brand name differences are noted by the companies as being east and west of the Rocky Mountains.
- Examples include mayonnaise, ice cream, fast food and Girl Scout cookies.
DENVER (KDVR) — Have you ever looked at a product on the grocery store shelf and were convinced it used to go by a different brand name? Well, you might not be wrong, especially if you used to live somewhere else.
Some brands go by completely different names, depending on which half of the U.S. they’re being sold in.
A lot of these brand name differences are noted by the companies as being east and west of the Rocky Mountains.
Mayonnaise
If you grew up or have lived anywhere east of the Rockies, you probably recognize Hellmann’s as one of the mayonnaise brands you’ve bought or seen on the shelves.
However, if you search for the brand on some store shelves in western states, you may not find it. Instead, you might find an extremely similar-looking jar labeled Best Foods.
This is because, in 1927, the California company that would eventually become Best Foods acquired the Hellmann’s brand. However, the company continued to sell under both brand names, with Best Foods in the west and Hellmann’s in the east.
Ice cream
Depending on what you’re used to, if you take a stroll down the frozen dessert aisle at the store, you might do a double-take.
Dreyer’s and Edy’s ice cream look nearly identical, save for the name listed on the cartons. They both come from the same company, as well.
West of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in Texas, you’ll find it under the Dreyer’s name. East of that, however, it’s Edy’s. The company said this is done to honor both founders of the company, William Dreyer and Joseph Edy.
Fast food
These west-and-east-coast regional differences aren’t limited to grocery store staples.
Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are both owned by the same parent company, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., though the company considers the two of them separate brands.
If you’re coming from the eastern half of the U.S., you’ll only find Hardee’s restaurants until you hit a certain point, at which point the only choice is Carl’s Jr.
Two states, Wyoming and Oklahoma, feature both Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants.
Girl Scout cookies
While the cookies are known nationwide as Girl Scout cookies, there are some brand and taste differences that you may notice, depending on where you grew up or what you’re used to.
Two different bakeries provide cookies for the Girl Scouts of America: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers.
Likely the most notable difference between the two is the names of some of the cookies: Samoas and Caramel deLites are the same types of cookie as each other, just like Do-si-dos and Peanut Butter Sandwiches are the same, and Tagalongs and Peanut Butter Patties are the same.
Cookies in Colorado, for example, come from Little Brownie Bakers, while cookies in other places, including all of Kansas and Nebraska, come from ABC Bakers.
However, unlike the previous three brands, the divide on where each is sold is much less harsh, and you can find cookies from both bakers on either side of the Rocky Mountains.
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