The Ice Cream Giant's Co-founder Jerry Greenfield Steps Down, Claiming Unilever Silenced Social Mission
Ben & Jerry’s's co-founder Jerry Greenfield has parted ways from the beloved brand after nearly 50 years, as stated by a message from his fellow founder Ben Cohen.
The announcement shared what he described as a message from Greenfield, in which the exiting executive called it one of the “hardest and most painful decisions” of his life.
Greenfield asserted that the organization had been silenced by its corporate owner and that its autonomy to speak out on social causes was now “lost.”
“Unless the business was willing to advocate for the things we believed in, then it no longer deserved to exist as a company at all,” Greenfield wrote.
This move came even after a acquisition deal designed to safeguard the company’s social mission, Greenfield noted.
“This autonomy existed largely because of the unique acquisition terms” that he and Cohen had arranged with Unilever, Greenfield wrote.
Ben & Jerry’s and its parent firm declined to comment to a media inquiry from the news agency.
Recently, Cohen said that during ongoing tensions with Unilever, the brand had attempted to arrange a transfer to investors at a fair market value of $1.5 to $2.5 billion, but the offer was rejected.
The multinational and Ben & Jerry’s have been at odds since at least recent years, when the ice-cream maker announced it would halt sales in the contested West Bank. The brand has also sued its owner over accusations to restrain it and has called the situation in Gaza “genocide.”
