Ben & Jerry’s was sold to Unilever in 2000 because “the business was publicly owned, and there was another company that wanted to own it, and they were offering so much money for the stock that the board of directors felt that they had no choice but to accept the offer,” Cohen explained in 2003. Greenfield described the partners’ role in the company afterwards as “goodwill ambassadors” helping to “promote the values of the company, not simply to sell more ice cream, but the other things that the company stands for and works for.” However, he said, “we’re not involved in operations or management. So we have no responsibility, no authority, and very little influence.”
In recent years, the founders have clashed with Unilever over activism regarding Gaza. In 2024, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever, stating the company of trying to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s independent board in order to silence the company “from calling for a cease-fire and safe passage for [Palestinian] refugees, from supporting U.S. students protesting civilian deaths in Gaza, and from urging an end to U.S. military aid to Israel,” per The New York Times. In March of this year, Ben & Jerry’s filed a federal complaint accusing Unilever of firing its CEO and replacing him without approval from Ben & Jerry’s advisory board, going against the companies’ merger agreement. “Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including C.E.O. David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission,” Ben & Jerry’s said in the filing.
This alleged silencing from Unilever is “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 values like justice, equity, and shared humanity has never been more important, yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced and sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power. It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose,” Greenfield wrote in his exit announcement.
Per The New York Times, Unilever is currently in the process of spinning off its ice cream unit into a new entity, Magnum Ice Cream Company. Cohen—who wrote on social media that Greenfield’s “legacy deserves to be true to our values” amid his departure from the company—has been leading protests against Unilever and the new spun-off company. He and other Ben & Jerry’s employees continue to spearhead the #FreeBenandJerrys campaign to make the company independent again. Meanwhile, Magnum Ice Cream Company issued a statement contradicting Greenfield’s message, just as Unilever “[rejected] the claims” made in Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit. “We disagree with his perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world,” Magnum Ice Cream Company stated in response to Greenfield’s letter, adding that it will remain committed to “Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission—product, economic and social—and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand.”
“Love, equity, justice. They’re part of who Ben and I are, and they’ve always been the true foundation of Ben & Jerry’s. From the very beginning, Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all,” Greenfield declared in his letter. “It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world. Coming to the conclusion that this is no longer possible at Ben & Jerry’s means I can no longer remain part of Ben & Jerry’s. If I can’t carry those values forward inside the company today, then I will carry them forward outside, with all the love and conviction I can.”
