Ben & Jerry’s Jerry Greenfield Quits In Independence Row With Unilever

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Jerry Greenfield, 1 of nan original founders of Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s crystal cream, has resigned.

In a missive shared by co-founder Beh Cohen connected societal media level X, Greenfield suggested he was disenchanted complete a deficiency of independency from nan genitor company, peculiarly astir expressing societal values.

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Only a week ago, Greenfield and Cohen had penned a missive to Unilever requesting Ben & Jerry’s beryllium allowed to run arsenic an “independently owned company” alternatively than beryllium absorbed into a caller spin-off entity successful November.

The separation of Unilever’s ice-cream operations from nan wider group has been successful nan pipeline since early past twelvemonth and nan caller business has been designated arsenic The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC).

Despite pressing for independence, TMICC responded to nan founders’ missive by saying: “Ben & Jerry’s is simply a proud portion of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and is not for sale.”

Greenfield’s resignation, posted connected X coming (17 September), appears to beryllium linked to nan comments expressed past week, wherever nan business partners said they felt “compelled to speak out”.

They suggested Unilever had not honoured nan 2000 takeover statement by Unilever, which purportedly “guaranteed nan company’s [Ben & Jerry’s] autonomy…with nan state to prosecute its societal mission”.

Referring to that deficiency of independency since nan merger, Greenfield said today: “It’s profoundly disappointing to travel to nan conclusion that that independence, nan very ground of our waste to Unilever, is gone.”

Greenfield added: “And it’s happening astatine a clip erstwhile our country’s management is attacking civilian rights, voting rights, nan authorities of immigrants, women, and nan LGBTQ community.

“Standing up for nan values of justice, equity and our shared humanity has ne'er been much important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced. Sidelined for fearfulness of upsetting those successful power.”

Those comments build connected what was voiced successful nan co-founders’ missive past week.

“For respective years now, nan sound of Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced by Unilever, peculiarly erstwhile nan marque has tried to speak retired astir societal justness and cruel wars. That is not nan Ben & Jerry’s that we founded, aliases nan 1 that we envisioned erstwhile we agreed to subordinate Unilever 25 years ago.”

Cohen and Greenfield person a history of agitating pinch Unilever nether their societal ngo schedule since nan 2000 acquisition.

Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s revenge a lawsuit successful a New York tribunal accusing nan FMCG elephantine of ousting its then-CEO Dave Stever successful what was deemed arsenic Unilever’s effort to soundlessness nan ngo agenda.

In different tribunal filing successful 2024, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever had tried to prohibition it from publically criticising President Donald Trump. The ice-cream shaper besides revenge a suit that aforesaid twelvemonth claiming Unilever had tried to extremity it from expressing support for Palestinian refugees.

Unilever had sold its ice-cream cognition successful nan Israeli-occupied West Bank successful 2022 successful an effort to tie a statement nether a negotiated statement stemming from Ben & Jerry’s halting income successful nan territory nan erstwhile year. In retaliation, Israel had threatened a boycott of nan company’s products.

Harking backmost to erstwhile Cohen and his business partner group up Vermont-headquartered Ben & Jerry’s successful 1978, Greenfield said successful his post: “It’s pinch a surgery bosom that I’ve decided I tin nary longer, successful bully conscience, and aft 47 years, stay an worker of Ben & Jerry’s.

“This is 1 of nan hardest and astir achy decisions I person ever made.”