Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield Steps Down Citing Loss of Brand Independence

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, has stepped down after nearly 50 years, criticizing Unilever for restricting the company’s ability to act on its social values. He said the brand’s independence was lost, despite a merger agreement designed to protect its mission. The move comes amid long-standing tensions with Unilever, including disputes over sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and ongoing legal conflicts.

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has announced his departure from the ice-cream company after nearly five decades, as shared in a post by fellow co-founder Ben Cohen. In the post, Cohen included what he described as a letter from Greenfield, in which Greenfield referred to his decision as one of the “hardest and most painful” he has ever made.

In his letter, Greenfield criticized Unilever for allegedly silencing the company, saying that its ability to speak out on global issues was “gone.” He stated, “If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.” Greenfield noted that this decision came despite a merger agreement designed to protect the brand’s social mission, emphasizing that the agreement had been central to maintaining the company’s independence. “That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement” he and Cohen had negotiated with Unilever, Greenfield wrote.

In response, the Magnum Ice Cream Company, a new Unilever division scheduled for separate listing in November, stated that it disagreed with Greenfield’s view and had attempted to engage both co-founders in constructive discussions to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s values-based position globally.

Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Cohen also revealed last week that, amid tensions with Unilever, the brand had tried to arrange a sale to investors at a fair market value of $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion, but the offer was rejected.

The relationship between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s has been strained since at least 2021, when the ice-cream company announced it would cease sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s has since sued its parent company over alleged attempts to silence it and described the conflict in Gaza as “genocide.” At that time, a Unilever spokesperson stated: “Our heart goes out to all victims of the tragic events in the Middle East. We reject the claims made by B&J’s social mission board, and we will defend our case very strongly. We would not comment further on this legal matter.”