Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield say it is ‘not the Ben & Jerry’s’ they founded after being ‘silenced’ by Unilever over matters of social justice
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.”
