Cartoon stick figure pointing towards a chalkboard with “Cool Whip” written in large chalk letters — representing a blog post about the Cool Whip word mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Cool Whip

First Used: April 11, 1966

First Registered: June 17, 1975

Current Owner: KRAFT FOODS GROUP BRANDS LLC [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Associated With: frozen non-dairy whipped topping [2]

Generic Phrase: whipped topping, as in COOL WHIP® Brand whipped topping

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

The Cool Whip® brand, not to be mixed up with the Miracle Whip® brand (seriously, don’t. it’s a long story. trust us on this one), was invented as a convenient alternative to traditional whipped cream. In the 1960s, whipped cream was not widely available in stores and making it at home was time intensive – it had to be whipped by hand and could be a long, exhausting process. Cool Whip whipped topping was designed to offer a longer shelf life and greater stability than dairy-based whipped cream. Unlike traditional whipped cream, Cool Whip whipped topping did not require refrigeration during shipping, making it a breakthrough product in convenience for both consumers and retailers.

What do Cool Whip and other iconic brands like (quick-set) Jell-O® [4], Tang® [5], and Pop Rocks® [6] have in common? They were all invented by the same person: William A. Mitchell. Mitchell was a prolific food scientist who is credited as an inventor on over 70 food-related patents. His career first kicked off with the creation of a mass-produced tapioca substitute that fueled soldiers during World War II, before then moving to General Foods where he focused on consumer foods. Known for his ingenuity, his long career as a research chemist coincided with America's midcentury fascination with convenience foods, making him a key figure in the history of modern food science.

[1] Cool Whip, https://www.kraftheinz.com/cool-whip.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,013,622, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73030326&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] Cool Whip® Celebrates 50 Years of Iconic Treats, KRAFT HEINZ, posted April 4, 2016, and available at https://news.kraftheinzcompany.com/press-releases-details/2016/Cool-Whip-Celebrates-50-Years-of-Iconic-Treats/; Meet the Man Who Invented Cool Whip, Tang and Pop Rocks, HOWSTUFFWORKS, posted October 10, 2022, and available at https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/meet-man-invented-cool-whip-tang.htm; The Untold Truth Of Cool Whip, MASHED, last updated August 23, 2021, and available at https://www.mashed.com/138369/the-untold-truth-of-cool-whip/; Is Cool Whip Food?: Looking Back on 50 Years, FOOD52, posted April 8, 2016, and available at https://food52.com/blog/16524-is-cool-whip-food-looking-back-on-50-years.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 250,035, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71266480&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,974,439, and available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73836054&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,740,996, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76182941&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.