3 weeks ago
9
One of the two founders of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream empire is walking away from the business in protest against parent company Unilever.
Jerry Greenfield, who started the ice cream business with Ben Cohen in Vermont in 1978, on Wednesday afternoon [Australia time] announced he was leaving the company in what was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made”.
“It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield said in a statement. “This isn’t because I’ve lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry’s. Quite the opposite.”
Ben & Jerry’s activist co-founders Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield have been at odds with their parent company Unilever over social and political issues. Now Greenfield has left.Credit: AP
Greenfield and Cohen have long been outspoken on various political and social issues such as climate change and abortion rights, and have used their ice cream brand as a vehicle for activism to campaign on issues such as LGBTQ+ equality. In 2017, the company refused to serve Australian customers a double scoop of the same flavour in the lead-up to the marriage equality vote.
“We took a stand and banned the sale of same-flavour scoops as a way to shine a spotlight on the need to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples,” the company said at the time.
Loading
In recent years, the pair has also been increasingly vocal over the Israel-Palestine conflict. The company caused fury in Israel when it decided to stop selling its ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.
The two ice cream entrepreneurs sold their company to Unilever in 2000, in a deal they claimed retained the brand’s independence and commitment to social justice.
That independence was tested last year when they took legal action against the multinational, accusing it of blocking the brand from making statements about Palestinian refugees in light of the Israel-Hamas war.
On Wednesday, Greenfield claimed the independence that Unilever promised the brand had “gone”.
Loading
“What allowed the company to be more than just an ice cream company was the independence to pursue our values, which was guaranteed when Unilever bought the company. For more than 20 years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world,” he said.
“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” Greenfield said.
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power. It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose,” he said.
Cohen shared Greenfield’s statement on X, saying Greenfield’s “legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced”.
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.
Most Viewed in Business
Loading
