Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns, citing loss of independence under Unilever

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield, whose name helped shape the popular ice cream brand, has quit the company, his partner Ben Cohen said on Sept 17, deepening the rift with parent Unilever.

In an open letter addressing the Ben & Jerry community that was shared by Mr Cohen on X, Mr Greenfield said the Vermont-based company has lost its independence since British parent Unilever curtailed its social activism.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have clashed since 2021, when the Chubby Hubby maker said it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The brand has since sued its parent over alleged efforts to silence it and

described the Gaza conflict as “genocide”

, a rare stance for a major US company.

Mr Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” continue working for a company that had been “silenced” by Unilever, despite a merger agreement meant to safeguard the brand’s social mission.

“That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever,” he wrote in the letter.

A Magnum Ice Cream company spokesperson said it disagrees with Mr Greenfield’s perspective. It has sought to engage both co-founders in a conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world.

Last week, Mr Cohen said the brand had attempted to engineer a sale to investors at a fair market value of between US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) and US$2.5 billion amid tensions with Unilever but the proposal was rejected. REUTERS