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The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s have called for the ice-cream brand to be made independent and excluded from current owner Unilever’s plans to list its ice-cream business on the stock market.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield say The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), a new division of Unilever that is set to be separately listed in November and includes the brand founded by the pair in 1978 alongside Magnum, Cornetto and Wall’s, “must free Ben & Jerry’s” in an open letter to prospective investors and the group’s board.
The pair, who no longer have a financial interest in Ben & Jerry’s or any formal role, say they “feel compelled to speak out – as concerned individuals”.
“We are deeply concerned that the commitments made to us, our employees, and our customers are being eroded. For several years now the voice of Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced by Unilever, particularly when the brand has tried to speak out about social justice and unjust wars. That is not the Ben & Jerry’s that we founded, or the one that we envisioned when we agreed to join.”
The ice-cream company launched in Vermont in the US with a mission to “advance human rights and dignity”.
The letter says: “We believe that the founding values are central to what Ben & Jerry’s is, and cannot simply be discarded out of convenience or under political pressure.”
Cohen added: “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.
“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. We won’t be silent any more. 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 makeup and establish a Free Ben & Jerry’s.”
A spokesperson for TMICC said: “Ben & Jerry’s is a proud part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and is not for sale. We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and look forward to building on its success as an iconic, much-loved business.”
The latest spat comes after a series of disagreements.
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s social mission board, an entity that is independent from Unilever, launched legal action against Unilever, accusing its parent company of trying to block the ice-cream brand from making public statements supporting Palestinian refugees in the conflict in Gaza.
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The lawsuit claimed that Unilever had threatened to dismantle its board and sue directors over the issue.
Unilever has rejected the claims and said it would “defend our case very strongly”.
Ben & Jerry’s has also clashed with its parent company over the sale of its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Unilever subsequently sold Ben & Jerry’s Israel division to a local operation, prompting the ice-cream maker to sue its parent company before reaching a settlement.
