Ben & Jerry's Founding Partner Alleges Parent Company Prevented Pro-Palestinian Frozen Dessert Product
The original creators behind the well-known ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's has announced that parent company the multinational conglomerate stopped the launch of a new Palestine-themed ice cream flavor.
Ben Cohen, that co-founded the company alongside Jerry Greenfield, revealed how he will personally create this new product as part of a personal collection showcasing issues Ben & Jerry's was barred from addressing publicly.
Ongoing Dispute Involving Creators and Parent Company
This latest announcement escalates the ongoing tension among the internationally recognized dessert company with Unilever, the British packaged goods giant which acquired the ice cream brand since 2000.
The co-founders have asserted that the parent company and its ice cream arm the Magnum brand unlawfully blocked their company from "honouring its social mission".
The Fruit Flavor as a Symbol for Support
Mr. Cohen announced via an Instagram video that he's developing an innovative watermelon-based frozen dessert, asking for consumer ideas for the product's name plus potential ingredients.
“I'm doing what they were prevented from doing,” Mr. Cohen declared from a cooking set. “I'm making a watermelon-based ice cream that advocates for lasting ceasefire in Palestine while demanding addressing the harm that was done there.”
This particular fruit has become an emblem of solidarity with Palestinians due to its colors, which mirror the colors in the Palestinian flag – red, green, black and white.
Previous Activism and Current Changes
Several years ago, the ice cream company ceased sales of their merchandise in areas under Israeli control, resulting in the parent company selling their Israel business over to a local licensee, thereby permitting continued sales within disputed territories.
The new dessert series will be created through Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the activist dessert company that originally created several years back to support former political contender Senator Sanders via the product "Bernie's Back".
Leadership Changes and Upcoming Intentions
Mr. Cohen revealed how he will develop other ice cream flavors that address concerns that the company was prevented from speaking about openly by corporate restrictions.
This development follows co-founder Jerry Greenfield stepped down his position at Ben & Jerry's recently, after many years of involvement, mentioning concerns that the company's autonomy had been undermined after corporate moves to restrict their advocacy work.
Previously, Mr. Cohen commented that "Jerry has strong compassion and the ongoing dispute with Unilever was breaking it."
“My conscience compels me to keep working within the organization to advocate for its independence so that the company can fulfill its ethical purpose, the principles which it was founded on while upholding for over 40 years," he told journalists.
- Corporate owner restrictions regarding social activism
- Independent flavor creation by company founders
- The fruit-based product as political symbol
- Continuing tensions among corporate ownership and ethical values