Ben Cohen, one of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s, has indicated that its parent company, Unilever, has prevented the launch of a Palestine-themed ice cream.
Cohen took to social media, releasing a video encouraging the public to assist him in creating his pro-Gaza ice cream, soliciting suggestions for ingredients and packaging design.
“A while back Ben & Jerry’s tried to make a flavour to call for peace in Palestine,” he stated.
“To stand for justice and dignity for everyone, like Ben & Jerry’s always have. But they weren’t allowed to. They were stopped by Unilever/Magnum, the company that owns Ben & Jerry’s.”
This ongoing tension between the founders and Unilever is not novel. In 2022, a U.S. judge denied a request by Ben & Jerry’s to block Unilever from selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements located in the occupied territories.
Unilever subsequently sold its Israeli operations to a local licensee, meaning the ice cream remains available in the occupied West Bank.
Acquired by Unilever in 2000, Ben & Jerry’s had an agreement that allowed it to maintain an independent board to oversee its social mission.
Sources confirm that Magnum did not approve the Ben & Jerry’s board proposal for the pro-Gaza ice cream, proposed earlier this year.
Cohen is now moving forward independently, inviting public input for flavors and packaging ideas. Currently, he has settled on a watermelon flavor—symbolizing the Palestinian flag’s colors (red, green, black, and white)—and an empty pint.
“I’m doing what they couldn’t,” he shared on social media. “I’m making a watermelon-flavored ice cream that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for repairing all the damage that was done there.”
Members of the public have been actively suggesting flavor combinations, including watermelon with mint and lemon; watermelon mixed with honey, pine nuts, mint, and lime; and watermelon with rose water, dates, and pomegranate molasses. Popular name suggestions have included ‘Sweet Resistance’, ‘Freemelon’, and ‘Seeds of Freedom’.
This recent contention between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever comes on the heels of the co-founders advocating for the brand’s independence.
In a letter, Cohen and Jerry Greenfield expressed that Unilever’s ownership has compromised the “social values on which [Ben & Jerry’s] was founded.”
They also indicated that while The Magnum Ice Cream Company is expected to become an independent entity, it is likely to retain Unilever’s legacy since the FMCG giant plans to maintain a material stake.
Magnum has dismissed any discussions of a sale, with CEO Peter ter Kulve stating: “Ben & Jerry’s is not for sale.”
Shortly thereafter, co-founder Greenfield resigned from his role with the ice cream brand.
In his resignation statement, he remarked: “It is profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”
