I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a brand of a spreadable emulsion of vegetable oil in water with butter flavorCalvani Terry. ''Antitrust Law Journal'', 1989, "Advertising Regulation: The States v. FTC. "...a nationally distributed butter substitute, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.'") produced by Upfield and marketed as a substitute for

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

History

The J.H. Filbert company, based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, developed the product in 1979 as a low-cost alternative to butter for the food service industry. The name originated from a comment by the husband of a company secretary as he sampled the product and it was first marketed to retail consumers in 1981. The company was acquired by Unilever in 1986, which then expanded sales of the product, previously only available primarily in the Washington, DC/Baltimore area, throughout the entire United States in 1988 and later to the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico in 1991.Wyman, Carolyn (2004).
Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed The Way We Eat
'. Quirk Books. pp.50-52. Jones, Geoffrey (2005)
''Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition''
Oxford University Press. pp. 102-03. The product was put on the market in Germany in 2011 and in Chile in 2012.

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented ...

has been the brand's celebrity spokesman since 1994, appearing in many of the brand's commercials, usually with his only line of dialogue being the brand name.

Varieties

In addition to a regular and 'light' spread, Unilever also uses the brand name to market a liquid butter substitute contained in a spray-bottle. This product is an emulsion of vegetable oil in water formulated with a 'hint' of butter flavor (derived from buttermilk) and is marketed as having zero calories and zero fat content. In 2017, Unilever announced two new varieties, "It's

Vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

" and "It's Organic".

Consumer sales

United States

It was reported in July 2005 (per research from the market research company Information Resources) that the product at that time led in product sales for its category of

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was or ...

s, butter blends and spreads, with sales revenue standing at US$244.7 million, summarized from 52 weeks up to July 10, 2005. But by 2012, the situation had changed. It was reported in 2012 by Euromonitor International that while sales of butter and spreadable oil fell, margarine sales increased by 1.1 percent, but sales of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter fell by 3.9 percent. 7 percent of sales at Unilever consists of spreads, with a significant amount consisting of butter substitutes, the sales of which are on the decline. In 2016, there were $248.4 million in sales of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and $47.7 million of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light.

UK rebranding

In February 2017, Unilever rebranded the product as "I Can't Believe It's So Good... For Everything!" in the UK. The stated objective was to increase awareness of the product's versatility. The rebrand was greeted with puzzlement and some derision by many media commentators. Subsequently, the branding was simplified to "I Can't Believe It's So Good...". The brand was returned to its original form in November 2019.

References

Additional sources

* * *{{cite journal , doi=10.1016/j.jfca.2004.05.003, title=Calcium fortification of food can add unneeded dietary phosphorus, journal=Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, volume=18, issue=6, pages=595–598, year=2005, last1=Cerklewski, first1=Florian L.

External links

USA WebsiteUK Website
Former Unilever brands Margarine brands Products introduced in 1981 Upfield (company) brands