Byegone places in Mexico City / Danesa 33, iconic ice cream desserts served in football helmet bowls
A story full of twists and turns that starts in 1972 and culminates in a Supreme Court decision.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
Through two sources I learned that Danesa 33 was born from the mind of Francisco Javier Vega Padilla, a native of Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, in 1972 (another text mentions it began in 1980). Mr. Vega-Padilla established his small and simple ice cream shop there in Jalisco. However, little by little, it became a chain of stores that adopted the colors blue and yellow and a ball that sported the number 33. The slogan, perhaps not so ingenious, was "a ball of flavor". Don Pancho Vega was the son of Abraham, the head honcho of the La Danesa dairy factory, and he had a huge success with his NFL helmets and his 33 flavors.
The Incredible and Sad Story of Danesa 33
In 1988, that is, 16 years after emerging, Danesa 33 was acquired by the Swiss group Nestlé: but 10 years later, in 1998, this company "forgot" the brand to make its own ice cream (sounds like a cunning plan, doesn't it?). In the 2000s, a company called Helados Vida applied to the National Institute of Industrial Property to obtain the trademark (Danesa 33), but in 2015, Herdez bought it from Nestlé, along with other businesses, for a billion pesos. It's strange, because another firm had applied to acquire the brand. In any case, by 2016 there were already Danesa 33 ice creams and popsicles in supermarkets.
The Participation of the Supreme Court of Justice
Mr. Mauricio Martínez complained because Herdez was using the brand and the case reached the Supreme Court of Justice. And it is that, in case you didn't know, in Mexico, if you stop using a trademark for 3 years, it becomes free for someone else. The litigation lasted 7 years and was favorable to Helados Vida. In early 2021 there was talk of a resurgence of Danesa 33. Nothing. It was all talk. So, why all the fuss with the Supreme Court?
Here is also an 80s commercial.
Permanently closed.
