The Ice Cream Giant's Co-creator Jerry Greenfield Resigns, Citing Unilever Silenced Activist Vision
Ben & Jerry’s's co-founder Jerry Greenfield has parted ways from the iconic company after nearly 50 years, as stated by a post from his business partner Ben Cohen.
Cohen’s post shared what he called a letter from Greenfield, in which the exiting co-founder called it one of the “toughest and most painful decisions” of his career.
Greenfield stated that the organization had been restrained by Unilever and that its independence to address global issues was now “lost.”
“Unless the business was willing to advocate for the things we cared about, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all,” he wrote.
The decision came despite a acquisition deal meant to safeguard the brand’s social mission, Greenfield noted.
“That independence was preserved in no small part because of the special acquisition terms” which both founders had negotiated with Unilever, Greenfield wrote.
Ben & Jerry’s and its parent firm did not immediately respond to a media inquiry from Reuters.
Recently, Cohen revealed that during disagreements with the parent company, the firm had attempted to engineer a transfer to buyers at a fair market value of $1.5bn–$2.5bn, but the proposal was rejected.
Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been in conflict since at least recent years, when the company announced it would stop selling in the contested West Bank. The brand has also taken legal action against its owner over accusations to silence it and has referred to the conflict in Gaza “atrocities.”
