Who owns Friendly's?
Friendly's is owned by Dairy Farmers of America (the United States).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Find Our Farmer-Owned Dairy Brands, Dairy Farmers of America. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1935
- Category
- Food › Frozen food › Ice cream
- Trademark registrant
- DFA DAIRY BRANDS IP, LLC (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 3 sources
About Friendly's
Friendly's is an ice cream and frozen treat brand that Dairy Farmers of America lists among its brands. DFA's brands page says its ice creams and frozen treats spread joy and smiles and aim to make the world a friendlier place. The page gives no founding date, and DFA's listing concerns the packaged dairy and frozen products rather than any restaurants.
Trademark record for Friendly's
The USPTO record for the Friendly's mark lists DFA DAIRY BRANDS IP, LLC as the owner of record (serial number 73783129). A trademark is often held by a group company rather than the listed parent, so the registrant's name can differ from the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Friendly's
- Current owner Dairy Farmers of America [1] reported
Where Friendly's sits in Dairy Farmers of America
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Dairy Farmers of America ownership tree →
See the full Dairy Farmers of America brand portfolio (17) →
Other brands owned by Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America controls 17 brands on Brandtree, 17 of them in food.
Also in food
- Alta Dena Dairy (1945)
- Borden Cheese
- Breakstone's
- Cache Valley Creamery (1937)
- Cass-Clay Creamery (1935)
- Dean's Dairy (1925)
- Falfurrias (1909)
- Garelick Farms (1931)
- Hotel Bar
- Keller's Creamery
- Kemps (1914)
- Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms (1934)
- Mayfield Dairy Farms (1910)
- Meadow Gold Dairy (1901)
- Plugrà
- TruMoo
Other brands in ice cream, and who owns them
The 72 brands in ice cream on Brandtree belong to 32 owners. The largest is The Magnum Ice Cream Company, with 14.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ben & Jerry's | The Magnum Ice Cream Company | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Bravo Cone | Binggrae | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| Drumstick | Froneri | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Dippin' Dots | J&J Snack Foods | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Deluxe | Mengniu | 🇨🇳 China |
| Choco Monaka Jumbo | Morinaga | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Gala | Paradise Foods | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea |
| Ice Vegas | Poulina | 🇹🇳 Tunisia |
About the owner: Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America is a cooperative headquartered in United States. Brandtree records 17 brands under its control.
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative in the United States. Its own site describes it as a leading global dairy cooperative that moves milk from farm to table and manufactures butter, ice cream, sour cream and other dairy products, with a brands page listing the regional and national dairy brands it sells. Several of the names it lists (Borden, Friendly's, Dean's) are older heritage names, so a reader should not assume DFA is the same company as any earlier owner of them; the brands page is the only source used and does not state how or when DFA took each brand.
Dairy Farmers of America: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Friendly's and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,399 brands that began in the United States. 461 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Friendly's is not one of them.
Official recalls involving Friendly's products
1 recall notice from government regulators matched to Friendly's. Each applies to the specific products, sizes and lot codes named in the notice, not to every product sold under the name.
- Carton Label: "Friendly's Vanilla Bean"; 48 fl. oz. Lid Label: "Friendly's Cookies and Cream" Product in carton is Cookies and Cream. — FDA, · Class II
Reason given: Product contains undeclared wheat and soy.
Recalling firm: DFA Dairy Brands, LLC
Matched automatically from FDA, USDA FSIS, UK Food Standards Agency and CPSC records only when the recalling firm corresponds to this ownership record and, for a brand, the brand name appears in the product description. Check the linked notice for exact products and lots. Method.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Friendly's?
The parent company of Friendly's is Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative headquartered in the United States.
Is Friendly's American?
Yes. Friendly's originated in the United States in 1935 and its owner, Dairy Farmers of America, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Friendly's still owned by Dairy Farmers of America?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Friendly's is still owned by Dairy Farmers of America. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (3) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Find Our Farmer-Owned Dairy Brands — Dairy Farmers of America, Official document; retrieved 4 October 2026.
- [2] USPTO: FRIENDLY'S, serial 73783129 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 4 October 2026.
- [3] Two Decades, One Sweet Collab: Jonas Brothers and Friendly's Create Anniversary Ice Cream Magic — Dairy Farmers of America, Official press release, published 10 June 2025; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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