Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Jerry Greenfield Resigns, Citing Disagreements Over Company Values
Burlington, VT – Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of the iconic American ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, announced Wednesday his departure from the company, stemming from disputes over its direction under parent company Unilever. Greenfield, who sold his stake in Ben & Jerry’s to Unilever in 2000, stated he could no longer remain with the company ”in all conscience” after 47 years.
The resignation follows ongoing tensions regarding Ben & Jerry’s commitment to its stated values of social and environmental activism. In 2022, the brand unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Unilever from selling its ice cream in West Bank settlements, a move Greenfield and co-founder Ben Cohen viewed as a betrayal of those principles.
“It was with a broken heart that I decided that I could no longer, in all conscience, and after 47 years, remaining an employee of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield wrote in a letter posted Tuesday on X by Ben Cohen.
Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s built a reputation for advocating for issues like environmental protection, human rights, and social equality. The 2000 acquisition by Unilever included provisions designed to protect the brand’s “integrity” through an autonomous board of directors. However, Greenfield asserts that this independence has eroded.
“The company has been reduced to silence, sidelined by fear of annoying power,” Greenfield’s letter continued, adding his disappointment with the US governance’s policies regarding civil rights, voting rights, immigrant rights, women’s rights, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Unilever is currently preparing to spin off its ice cream division, “The Magnum Ice Cream Company,” as a separate entity based in Amsterdam, slated for November.
This is not the first instance of friction between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s. Cohen and Greenfield recently called for the brand to regain its independence in another open letter.
A Unilever spokesperson responded, stating, “We do not share the point of view of Jerry Greenfield and wanted to initiate a constructive dialog with the two co-founders on the way of strengthening the strong position of Ben & Jerry’s in the world, based on its values.”
Notably,Ben Cohen was recently removed from a parliamentary hearing in Washington D.C. in May after criticizing the American government’s support for israel’s actions in Gaza.