Ben & Jerry's co-founder says Unilever is "muzzling" them; Wants ice cream brand back
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen wants to buy the ice cream company back from Unilever. According to Cohen, Unilever has been muzzling Ben & Jerry’s for years and is imposing a more conservative culture on the company. He expects little to change when the food giant spins off its ice cream business and lists it on the Amsterdam stock exchange next month, Cohen told Reuters. Ben & Jerry’s will then be part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC).
According to Cohen, after Unilever already violated the hands-off policy agreed upon when acquiring Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum is now also censoring the ice cream brand’s ability to speak out on progressive causes like the genocide in Gaza and the United States’ immigration policy. “There is no difference between how Unilever is muzzling Ben & Jerry's and Magnum,” Cohen told Reuters. Cohen is working with a group of investors on buying back Ben & Jerry’s for $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
TMICC told Reuters that Ben & Jerry’s is not for sale. According to TMICC, it only intervened in about 2% of the brand’s social media posts. "We have always striven to work together with the Ben & Jerry’s teams to craft balanced messages in line with the original agreement around the progressive, non-partisan social mission."
Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded Ben & Jerry’s in 1978. The brand quickly became known for its unusual flavors and its social stances. They sold the brand to Unilever in 2000, stepping out of operations, but remaining part of Ben & Jerry’s social council, which is responsible for its progressive course.
Last month, Greenfield announced that he was leaving Ben & Jerry’s. According to Greenfield, the independence Uniliver had promised during the acquisition had disappeared. “And it is happening at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community. 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,” he said in a statement published on X.
