Jerry Greenfield, one of the original founders of Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, has resigned.
In a letter shared by co-founder Beh Cohen on social media platform X, Greenfield suggested he was disenchanted over a lack of independence from the parent company, particularly around expressing social values.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Only a week ago, Greenfield and Cohen had penned a letter to Unilever requesting Ben & Jerry’s be allowed to operate as an “independently owned company” rather than be absorbed into a new spin-off entity in November.
The separation of Unilever’s ice-cream operations from the wider group has been in the pipeline since early last year and the new business has been designated as The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC).
Despite pressing for independence, TMICC responded to the founders’ letter by saying: “Ben & Jerry’s is a proud part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and is not for sale.”
Greenfield’s resignation, posted on X today (17 September), appears to be linked to the comments expressed last week, where the business partners said they felt “compelled to speak out”.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThey suggested Unilever had not honoured the 2000 takeover agreement by Unilever, which purportedly “guaranteed the company’s [Ben & Jerry’s] autonomy…with the freedom to pursue its social mission”.
Referring to that lack of independence since the merger, Greenfield said today: “It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”
Greenfield added: “And it’s happening at a time when our country’s administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community.
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced. Sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.”
Those comments build on what was voiced in the co-founders’ letter last week.
“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 Unilever 25 years ago.”
Cohen and Greenfield have a history of agitating with Unilever under their social mission agenda since the 2000 acquisition.
Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s filed a case in a New York court accusing the FMCG giant of ousting its then-CEO Dave Stever in what was deemed as Unilever’s attempt to silence the mission agenda.
In another court filing in 2024, Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever had tried to ban it from publicly criticising President Donald Trump. The ice-cream maker also filed a lawsuit that same year claiming Unilever had tried to stop it from expressing support for Palestinian refugees.
Unilever had sold its ice-cream operation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 2022 in an attempt to draw a line under a diplomatic row stemming from Ben & Jerry’s halting sales in the territory the previous year. In retaliation, Israel had threatened a boycott of the company’s products.
Harking back to when Cohen and his business partner set up Vermont-headquartered Ben & Jerry’s in 1978, Greenfield said in his post: “It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s.
“This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I have ever made.”
