It wasn’t all that long ago that ice cream was sold in actual half gallons, instead of containers of 1.5 to 1.75 quarts… or even smaller. Blue Bunny, a brand that has generally stayed at the higher end of the range, used a recent package redesign to mask shrinkage down to 46 ounces, or 1.44 quarts.

Here’s what the previous version of Blue Bunny’s standard ice cream flavors looked like:

Note how they brag that their products can still legally be called ice cream, unlike some of their competitors. That’s nice and all, but they’ve still taken the package size below one and a half quarts with this redesign.

We learned about the change from Mouse Print, and they contacted Blue Bunny about it. In a statement, the company took the long way around to essentially say, “all of the other ice cream makers are doing it, too.”

While our packaging size has changed with our makeover, the quality of our ice cream has not been ignored, in fact our ice cream is better than ever! Most importantly, consumers can be confident Blue Bunny is committed to delivering an incredible ice cream experience with the best quality in all aspects – from the first opening to digging out the last scoop in the container!

Fine, but we’re going to have to find something to call this size of ice cream container other than “half gallon,” since that cow has certainly fled the barn.

Blue Bunny Ice Cream Downsizes [Mouse Print]