Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield quits over Unilever social activism dispute

Credit: Walter Cicchetti / Shutterstock.com

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has departed the iconic ice cream maker after almost half a century, citing a loss of independence under parent company Unilever.

The move, announced in a letter shared on social media by fellow co-founder Ben Cohen, deepens an ongoing dispute over the brand’s activism.

“One of the hardest and most painful decisions”

In the letter, Mr Greenfield said leaving the firm was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” he had ever made but that he could no longer “in good conscience” continue in his role.

He claimed Unilever had “silenced” the company’s activism, despite an agreement protecting the brand’s social mission when it merged with the consumer goods giant in 2000.

Greenfield wrote:

For more than twenty 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…

It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”

Greenfield also connected the company’s current challenges to wider political issues in the US, stating:

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.

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 and sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.”

Greenfield’s exit follows a string of conflicts that began in 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The issue sparked tension with Unilever, which is in the process of spinning off its ice cream brands, including Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s, into a separate company, with completion expected later this year.

Unilever response

A spokesperson for The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) expressed gratitude for Greenfield’s contributions but said it disagreed with his stance. The company claimed it had engaged with both co-founders on ways to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s values-based position.

This latest letter follows the co-founders’ recent push to the TMICC board, in which they demanded via an open letter that Ben & Jerry’s be spun off to operate independently and sold to investors; however, the board rejected the proposal.

In response, Unilever emphasised that Ben & Jerry’s remains a “proud part” of the Magnum Ice Cream Company and confirmed it is not for sale.

Ben & Jerry’s has a long-standing reputation for taking public stances on social issues, from LGBTQ+ rights to climate change. The brand’s activism has occasionally led to friction with its corporate parent. Ben & Jerry’s previously claimed Unilever had demanded it stop public criticism of the US president, while earlier this year, Cohen was arrested during a protest in support of Gaza during a US Senate hearing.