Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield Resigns After 47 Years, Citing Loss of Independence Under Unilever

Jerry Greenfield

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has announced his departure from the iconic ice cream company after nearly five decades, claiming that its ability to speak freely on social issues has been stifled by parent company Unilever.

In a letter shared publicly by co-founder Ben Cohen, Greenfield said the brand’s independence to advocate for peace, justice, and human rights has been eroded. He pointed to the unique merger agreement he and Cohen negotiated with Unilever in 2000, which was supposed to protect Ben & Jerry’s social mission indefinitely.

“For more than 20 years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world,” Greenfield wrote. “That independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”

He added that the silencing comes “at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.”

Jerry Greenfield, right, and Ben Cohen, co-founders of Ben & Jerry's, partnered with MoveOn to hand out free ice cream at Franklin Square in Philadelphia during their Scoop The Vote tour to get-out-the-vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats down-ballot on Sept. 16, 2024

Greenfield emphasized that Ben & Jerry’s was always about more than just ice cream, describing it as a way to “spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world.”

Unilever is in the process of spinning off its ice cream division, including Ben & Jerry’s, into a new stand-alone company called The Magnum Ice Cream Company. A spokesperson for Magnum thanked Greenfield for his contributions but rejected his claims, saying: “We disagree with his perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world.”

Tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever have escalated in recent years. In March, the brand accused Unilever of unlawfully removing its CEO, David Stever, in retaliation for political activism — a move it argued violated their merger agreement. In November, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever again, claiming the company blocked it from making public statements in support of Palestinians during the Gaza war and silenced its commentary on issues such as minimum wages, climate change, and abortion rights.

Unilever, which purchased Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million in 2000, announced in May 2024 that it would spin off its ice cream division by the end of 2025 as part of a broader restructuring. Despite public clashes, the company has maintained that it remains committed to the brand’s legacy of “peace, love, and ice cream.”