Ben & Jerry’s founders call for release from parent company on social justice grounds
The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s have written to the board of The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) and Magnum’s potential investors, requesting that the brand be released from the conglomerate.
“Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical premise: that our business could thrive and make outstanding products whilst standing up for progressive values,” Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, said.
“We fought to ensure our social justice mission was protected by Unilever when the company was acquired, but over the past several years, this has been eroded, and the company’s voice has been muted.”
Ben & Jerry’s is currently owned by Unilever, but it is – along with Magnum and Wall’s – in the process of being spun off into TMICC.
TMICC will list later this year, although Unilever will retain a 20 per cent stake for up to five years.
“We won’t be silent anymore,” Cohen said. “Authenticity has always been at the very heart of what we do, and stripping this away risks destroying the very value of Ben & Jerry’s.
“We urge the board and potential investors to rethink the inclusion of Ben & Jerry’s in Magnum’s future make-up and establish a Free Ben & Jerry’s.”
Unilever safeguards are ‘being eroded’
In the letter to investors, the co-founders said that the safeguards Unilever promised Ben and Jerry’s in its acquisition agreement are “being undermined”.
“Decisions are being made by the corporate parent about Ben & Jerry’s activism and voice, driven by short term political expediency rather than an understanding of the importance of the brand’s values to the lovers and purchasers of its ice cream,” the letter said, adding that “activism is the core of the brand’s identity.”
The letter gave said that decisions “made by Unilever” which affect the brand’s advocacy include stances on Gaza, indigenous rights, the Trump administration, and DEI.
Unilever watered down its social and environmental commitments last year amid a period of worsening performance.
“We make this statement not antagonistically, but out of genuine concern for the company we founded,” the co-founders wrote.