Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Steps Down Due to Brand Being Silenced

Ben & Jerry's Police Reform — Source: Caroline Brehman / Getty

After nearly five decades with the company he helped build, Jerry Greenfield has officially walked away from Ben & Jerry’s.

In a letter shared by co-founder Ben Cohen, Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” stay on, accusing parent company Unilever of stripping the ice cream brand of the independence and activism that made it famous.

“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” Greenfield wrote. “If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.”

Ben & Jerry’s has long been known for mixing social justice with its hippy-inspired flavors. But, its relationship with Unilever has grown increasingly tense since the brand announced in 2021 that it would stop selling in occupied Palestinian territories. The move drew sharp criticism from Israel, and Unilever responded by selling Ben & Jerry’s Israel division to a local operator.

Consequently, that sparked lawsuits and a years-long fight over whether the brand could speak out on political issues without interference.

Greenfield called stepping away “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” of his life, but said the company’s progressive mission had been stifled. Just last year, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever again, accusing the parent company of blocking statements on everything from abortion rights to climate change.

Meanwhile, Unilever is spinning off its ice cream holdings. The company has now branded the Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) into a standalone business. A TMICC spokesperson said the company “disagreed” with Greenfield’s view but would be “forever grateful” for his role in co-founding the brand.

Cohen and Greenfield have been pushing to buy Ben & Jerry’s back, even trying to line up investors for a deal they say was worth up to $2.5 billion, but Unilever has rejected all offers.

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For Greenfield, the fight has always been bigger than ice cream.

“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 wrote.

Ben & Jerry’s was founded in 1978 out of a converted gas station in Burlington, Vermont. What started with fun flavors like Cherry Garcia grew into a global powerhouse… But, one that Greenfield says no longer resembles the company he built.