“After 47 years, Jerry made the difficult decision to leave the company we built together. I share his words following his resignation from Ben & Jerry’s. His legacy deserves to stay true to our values, not to be silenced by Magnum”, wrote Ben Cohen, the co-founder, on X.
In a letter shared by Cohen, ice cream entrepreneur Greenfield stated that when Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s, they were promised “independence” to promote their values of “peace, justice, and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events”.
Greenfield claimed that the company’s social mission and values were integrated into its structure “forever,” but Unilever allegedly did not respect them. This comes at a time when the U.S. administration under Donald Trump “attacks civil rights, voting rights, immigrants, women, and the LGBT community.”
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s was silenced and marginalized out of fear of provoking those in power,” he criticized.
Unilever denied the accusations in a statement, asserting that it attempted to have “a constructive conversation” with the co-founders and expressed its commitment to its “productive, economic and social” mission and the continuation of “its legacy of peace, love, and ice cream.”
The disagreements between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever began in 2021 when the ice cream brand announced it would not renew the Israeli franchise Avi Zinger’s license, arguing that operating in the occupied Palestinian territories violated its “foundational values.” The multinational company then sold those commercial rights to the Israeli operator.
In early 2025, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever, accusing it of firing its CEO David Stever due to his social activism and without board approval.
The ice cream manufacturer then accused Unilever of preventing it from publishing messages against racial discrimination or supporting the pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, detained by Immigration agents, coinciding with a previous 2024 legal action for allegedly censoring its support for Palestinians.
Unilever announced in early 2024 that it would separate its ice cream division, named Magnum, and the process is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
