A shopkeeper in rural Australia has stumbled upon a piece of 1990s nostalgia while cleaning an old freezer, discovering a Magnum Ego ice cream believed to date back nearly three decades. Ash Stanbridge, who took over the historic Kolmar House General Store in Harrow, Victoria, just 10 months ago, found the packaged ice cream buried beneath layers of ice, where it had remained frozen and intact.According to ABC News Australia, which reported the discovery on October 24, Stanbridge was routinely defrosting and cleaning an old freezer when he noticed an unfamiliar object beneath the ice. The old Magnum logo and wrapper caught his attention, prompting him to realise that the product had likely been there for years. The shopkeeper said he was initially amazed and struggled to believe what he had found.The discovery has since attracted widespread attention online, with Australians sharing memories of the discontinued ice cream and calling for its return. The find is particularly striking because the store itself has more than 145 years of history, having served generations of residents in the small Victorian town.
A childhood favourite hidden beneath decades of ice
The ice cream was identified as Magnum Ego, a product introduced in Australia in 1998. It featured vanilla ice cream coated with a layer of milk chocolate, a caramel layer and an outer chocolate shell, making it a particularly indulgent variation of the familiar Magnum ice cream bar. For Stanbridge, the discovery brought back memories of growing up in the late 1990s, when the product was considered a premium treat.Speaking to ABC News, he recalled family trips to service stations to buy ice cream and described the Ego as a top-tier product that people were excited about. He said seeing its old packaging immediately brought those memories back.The product’s reported origins in the late 1990s make the discovery especially remarkable. However, the exact manufacturing date of the individual ice cream has not been independently established. Its age is based on the packaging and the shopkeeper’s recollections rather than a verified production record.Stanbridge said the ice cream was still solid and intact when he uncovered it. Despite the curiosity surrounding the find, he was not willing to taste it, according to ABC News.
Historic store yields other forgotten products
The Magnum Ego was not the only unexpected discovery during the clean-out. Stanbridge also found old packets of chips believed to date from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as a sealed flavoured-milk container that no longer contained any liquid.The items were found in the same storeroom as the freezer and offered a glimpse into the shop’s earlier years. Rather than immediately throwing everything away, Stanbridge decided to retain many of the objects as part of the store’s history.The Kolmar House General Store is located in Harrow, a rural township in south-west Victoria. Its long history predates Stanbridge’s ownership by well over a century. According to *Real Commercial*, the building is more than 145 years old, and the business has been a longstanding part of the local community.The discovery also highlights how older stock and forgotten objects can remain hidden in storage spaces when businesses change hands. Although Stanbridge had only recently taken over the store, the freezer and its contents had been left behind by previous owners.
Magnum responds as nostalgia spreads online
After sharing the discovery on social media, Stanbridge saw the find attract attention from people who remembered the ice cream from their childhoods. Comments included recollections of buying the product regularly and disappointment that it was no longer available.The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which Stanbridge contacted about the discovery, acknowledged the response and said it was following the conversation. “Australians have been sharing stories, memories and tributes to Magnum Ego, reminding us just how special the product remains to so many people,” the company told ABC News.It added that it had enjoyed hearing people’s memories of the ice cream and said, “For now, all we can say is watch this space.”The product was discontinued earlier in 2026, according to ABC News, adding to the significance of the discovery for its fans. The company’s response, however, should not be interpreted as confirmation that the ice cream will return to Australian shelves.The Magnum Ego find has become more than an unusual freezer discovery. It has revived memories of a product associated with family outings, summer treats and a particular period in Australian food culture.
