BURLINGTON, VT – Jerry Greenfield’s resignation from the ice cream empire he helped build has exposed a bitter corporate war between Ben & Jerry’s progressive activism and parent company Unilever’s demands for silence on controversial issues.
The co-founder of the beloved Vermont ice cream brand announced Tuesday he’s walking away from the company he started in the late 1970s, accusing Unilever of muzzling the brand’s political voice at a critical time for civil rights and social justice.
“Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” Greenfield wrote in a scathing public resignation letter. His departure comes as the current administration faces criticism over attacks on voting rights, immigration, and LGBTQ protections.
The resignation represents the latest explosion in a years-long battle that’s pitted the ice cream makers’ social mission against their corporate overlords’ desire for controversy-free profits. Since Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million in 2000, tensions have simmered over the brand’s independence and its ability to speak out on everything from climate change to the war in Gaza.
Greenfield’s longtime partner, Ben Cohen, didn’t mince words about the deteriorating relationship. “This is a marriage that has fallen apart,” Cohen said, pushing for Unilever or its subsidiary Magnum Ice Cream Co. to sell the brand to owners who share its values.
The conflict reached new heights in March when Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever, accusing the multinational corporation of firing the ice cream company’s CEO in retaliation for continued social media activism. The unusual merger agreement that created an independent board to preserve the company’s social mission has become a battlefield for control.
“It’s very unclear where that line is,” explained Ann Lipton, a University of Colorado Law School professor familiar with the case. The board claims political messaging falls under their social responsibility mandate, while Unilever insists it’s an operational matter under their control.
Magnum Ice Cream Co., which will split from Unilever in November, responded diplomatically to Greenfield’s departure but firmly rejected his criticisms. The company said it remains committed to Ben & Jerry’s “three-part mission” of product, economic, and social goals.
For Greenfield, the fight was always about more than frozen desserts. “It was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world,” he wrote, suggesting those days are now over under current ownership.
The co-founders’ “Free Ben & Jerry’s” campaign continues pushing for a sale to socially-aligned owners, though success seems unlikely as Magnum prepares for its November separation from Unilever.
