The ice cream brand's Co-Founder Alleges Unilever Blocked Palestine-Themed Ice Cream Product
One of the co-founders behind the famous frozen dessert company Ben and Jerry's has announced how parent company the multinational conglomerate stopped the introduction of an innovative Palestine-themed frozen dessert product.
Ben Cohen, who established the company with his partner, revealed that he will personally create this new product within a personal collection highlighting causes Ben & Jerry's has been barred from speaking out about.
Ongoing Conflict Between Founders versus Parent Company
The recent development intensifies the ongoing disagreement among the world-famous ice cream maker and Unilever, the British packaged goods corporation which acquired Ben & Jerry's since 2000.
Both founders have asserted how Unilever and their ice cream division Magnum improperly prevented Ben & Jerry's from "honouring its social mission".
Watermelon Sorbet as an Emblem for Support
Mr. Cohen announced via an Instagram video how he's developing an innovative watermelon-based frozen dessert, requesting public suggestions for the product's name and additional components.
“I'm accomplishing what they were prevented from doing,” the founder stated in a cooking set. “I'm making a watermelon-flavored frozen dessert that calls for lasting ceasefire in Palestine and calls for repairing the damage that was done there.”
This particular fruit has become a symbol for solidarity with Palestinians due to its coloration, which mirror the colors in the Palestinian flag – red, green, black and white.
Previous Activism and Current Developments
Several years ago, the ice cream company refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel, leading to the parent company transferring the Israeli operation to an Israeli distributor, thus allowing ongoing distribution within the occupied West Bank.
This upcoming dessert series is being developed under Ben's Best, the socially conscious ice cream brand that originally created several years back to support former political contender Senator Sanders with the product "Bernie's Back".
Management Shifts and Future Plans
Mr. Cohen revealed that he plans to develop other ice cream flavors that address concerns which Ben & Jerry's was silenced from speaking about openly due to Unilever.
This development follows partner Jerry Greenfield resigned from the company in September, following decades of involvement, citing worries regarding how its independence had been compromised following corporate moves to restrict their advocacy work.
At that time, Ben Cohen stated how “My partner has strong compassion and the ongoing dispute with our parent company was deeply distressing him."
“My conscience leads me to continue to work within the organization to advocate for its independence so that it can actualise its ethical purpose, the principles that it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years," he explained to media outlets.
- Corporate owner limitations on social activism
- Independent product development by original creators
- The fruit-based product as social statement
- Continuing disagreements among parent company and ethical values