{{Short description|Dutch chocolate, coffee and ice cream brand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox brand | name = Australian Homemade | logo = | currentowner = Copar B.V. | country = Netherlands | introduced = 1989 (as ''Australian Home Made Ice Cream'') | markets = {{plainlist| * Europe * North America }} | website = {{URL|https://www.australianhomemade.com}} }}
'''Australian Homemade''' (branded as '''Australian''') is a Dutch brand of coffee, chocolate and ice cream owned by Copar B.V., a confectionery distributor based in Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands.<ref name="Australian">{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.australianhomemade.com/ |website=Australian |publisher=Copar B.V. |language=nl |access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="MKBfonds">{{cite web |title=Copar |url=https://mkb-fonds.nl/en/investment/copar-2/ |website=MKB Fonds |language=nl |access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref> The brand markets organic coffee and hand-made chocolates using certified cocoa and coffee beans, and is known for confectionery decorated with motifs inspired by Indigenous Australian art.<ref name="Australian"/><ref name="AmbroseHarris">{{cite book |last=Ambrose |first=Gavin |author2=Paul Harris |title=Packaging the Brand: Exploring the Relationship Between Packaging Design and Brand Identity |publisher=AVA Publishing |year=2011 |pages=24–25}}</ref>
==History== === Belgian origins === Originally, a Belgian ice-cream store named Australian opened in Knokke, set up by the Flemish businessman Frederik Van Isacker. The shop subsequently expanded to many locations within the country.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=NBNA27082002_006 Article of Het Nieuwsblad: "Australian Home Made Ice Cream is Belgisch"]</ref> It continues to trade domestically under separate ownership, operating more than forty branded outlets in Belgium.<ref name="AustralianIce">{{cite web |title=Find the best ice cream near you! |url=https://australianice.com/locations/?lang=en |website=Australian Homemade Ice Cream |access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref>
=== Development as a Dutch brand === In the mid-1990s, a separate Dutch brand, marketed as "Australian Homemade" or simply "Australian", was developed to sell chocolates and ice cream using recipes and branding derived from the Belgian business but managed from the Netherlands.<ref name="DavisBaldwin">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Melissa |author2=Jonathan Baldwin |title=More Than a Name: An Introduction to Branding |publisher=AVA Publishing |year=2006 |pages=57–59}}</ref>
By the early 2000s, Australian Homemade had expanded through franchising, opening branded outlets across continental Europe and in parts of the Asia-Pacific region.<ref name="DavisBaldwin"/> In 2003, the brand opened a shop in New York.<ref name="NYMag">{{cite web |title=Australian Homemade |url=https://nymag.com/listings/stores/j7u8/ |website=New York Magazine |location=New York |access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref>
=== Shift to packaged products and Copar ownership === From the 2010s the brand increasingly shifted from running its own ice-cream parlours towards supplying branded chocolate and coffee products to supermarkets, online retail and business customers in the Netherlands.<ref name="Australian"/> Its product range was broadened to include organic coffee beans, coffee capsules and gift assortments of chocolates, alongside seasonal confectionery for holidays such as Sinterklaas and Easter.<ref name="Australian"/>
In 2022 Australian became part of the portfolio of Copar B.V., a Dutch distributor of confectionery brands.<ref name="MKBfonds"/>
There are currently over 50 stores found in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the United States.{{cn|date=October 2025}}
==Aboriginal reaction== Some Indigenous Australians reacted with anger at Australian Homemade, accusing them of cultural appropriation through their use of Aboriginal designs without permission.<ref name="Siehr">{{cite journal |last=Siehr |first=Kurt |title=January 1, 2003–December 31, 2003 |journal=International Journal of Cultural Property |volume=12 |issue=1 |year=2005 |pages=118–158 |doi=10.1017/S0940739105050083}}</ref>
In defence, the company says the designs were by a Dutch artist inspired by indigenous art and had no intention of causing offence to Indigenous Australians. They were reportedly working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission to help promote Aboriginal issues.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-09-07 |title=Artful Dutch seek to sweet-talk furious Aborigines |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/artful-dutch-seek-to-sweet-talk-furious-aborigines-20030907-gdhcj1.html |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * Chocolaterie * Foreign branding
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|www.australianhomemade.com}}
Category:Dutch chocolate companies Category:Ice cream parlors Category:Ice cream brands Category:Retail companies established in 1979 Category:Dairy products companies of the Netherlands Category:1979 establishments in the Netherlands
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