The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream has said he has a “broken heart” after quitting the company amid a row with its UK owner.
Jerry Greenfield said he couldn’t “in good conscience” continue in his role and claimed Unilever had “silenced” its activism.
Ben & Jerry’s has clashed with its parent company for a number of years, most notably in 2021 when the brand said it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The deal with Unilever in 2000 was designed to allow Ben & Jerry’s to stay independent, with an outside board set up to protect its social mission and values.
However, in an open letter shared on X by co-founder Ben Cohen, Mr Greenfield said it was “profoundly disappointing” the independence promised was now gone.
He said he had a “broken heart” over his decision to quit, but claimed Ben & Jerry’s had been “silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power”.
“It’s 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,” Mr Greenfield added.
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Unilever is in the process of spinning off its ice cream business – which also includes Magnum and Wall’s – into a separate company, with completion expected later this year.
A spokesman for The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) said it disagreed with Mr Greenfield’s perspective and had tried to engage with both co-founders on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s values-based position.
Unilever has always argued that it “reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions” as owners of Ben & Jerry’s – but hasn’t yet responded to Mr Greenfield’s resignation.
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Ben Cohen said last week that Ben & Jerry’s had tried to put together a deal to sell the firm to investors but that the proposal was rejected.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Cohen said he would give back the money from the Unilever sale if it meant the brand could be independent.
“You’re saying, would I give it back? Absolutely. If we could still have Ben and Jerry’s independent, any day”, he said.
“It seems like the board of Magnum has been Trumpified”, Mr Cohen added.
Ben & Jerry’s previously claimed Unilever had demanded it stop public criticism of the US president. Ben Cohen himself was arrested earlier this year over a protest in support of Gaza during a US Senate hearing.
The ice cream brand began in Vermont in 1978 and its distinctive marketing and flavours – such as phish food and cherry garcia – helped make it a global hit.
