Ben & Jerry's co-founder exits after feud with Unilever over Gaza

By Shivani Tanna and Gursimran Mehar

(Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield, part of the duo whose names shaped the popular U.S. ice cream brand over the last half-century, has quit his role as "brand ambassador" after a rift and public feud with parent Unilever over the conflict in Gaza.   

In an open letter shared by his business partner Ben Cohen on social media, Greenfield said that the Vermont-based company - well-known for its social activism on progressive issues - had in recent years been "silenced" by Unilever, which is currently spinning off its Magnum ice cream unit that includes the Ben & Jerry's brand.

"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," wrote Greenfield, 74, who had taken on a salaried brand ambassador role at the firm.

"Standing up for values like justice, equity, and shared humanity has never been more important, yet Ben & Jerry's has been silenced and sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power."

LONELY CRITICAL VOICE

Ben & Jerry's has in recent months been a lonely voice among well-known brands speaking out on issues like Gaza and President Donald Trump's immigration stance, while other U.S. companies back away from diversity pledges, and their executives largely refrain from commenting on the White House's policies.

Last month, Microsoft fired four workers for protests over the company's ties to Israel, including two who briefly occupied the company president's office.

Ben & Jerry's independent social mission board, which Greenfield and Cohen do not sit on, has led the activism. The sale of Ben & Jerry's to Unilever in 2000 allowed the brand to maintain the board, with authority over the social mission but not business operations.

A spokesperson for Unilever and its Magnum Ice Cream Co said that it "disagrees with Greenfield's perspective and has sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry's powerful values-based position in the world."

Unilever shares were unmoved on Wednesday.

DISPUTE OVER GAZA

Ben & Jerry's has long combined selling ice cream and activism, launching a "Justice Remixed" cinnamon-and-chocolate ice cream in 2019 to build awareness about racial justice, and in 2009 re-naming Chubby Hubby "Hubby Hubby" to support gay marriage.

But the relationship between Unilever and Ben & Jerry's has eroded since 2021, when the ice cream maker said it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a move that led some investors to divest from the London-based parent. Greenfield and Cohen at the time wrote in the New York Times that they supported the move.

Unilever ultimately sold the business in Israel to a local licensee, a move the brand sued over, but later settled.

The brand has sued Unilever a second time over alleged efforts to muzzle it and dismantle the social mission board. It has also described the Gaza conflict as "genocide", a rare stance for a U.S. company. 

Magnum said Greenfield was not a party to the lawsuit. Earlier this year, Unilever asked for the most of the claims in the case to be dismissed, but the judge has not yet weighed in. 

Greenfield's departure comes as the Ben & Jerry's founders have been calling for its own spin-off ahead of a planned listing of Magnum Ice Cream in November.

Last week Cohen held a protest in London as the new Magnum Ice Cream Company presented its growth plans, demanding Unilever "free Ben & Jerry's" to protect its social values. That was rebuffed by new Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve. Cohen notably did not announce he was also stepping down on Wednesday.

Greenfield said he would keep up his social fight from outside the company as he couldn't do so from inside.

"It was always about more than just ice cream — it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for a better world," he said.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Writing by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Adam Jourdan, Harikrishnan Nair, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Aidan Lewis)