Ben & Jerry's ice cream is not for sale, ays Unilever CEO
Speculation about the future of Ben & Jerry's has arisen after founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield expressed interest in buying back their namesake ice cream label, after years of tension between the brand and Unilever, according to a Bloomberg News report.
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Founded in 1978, Ben & Jerry's became popular with offbeat flavors like Cherry Garcia and Chubby Hubby and associated itself with progressive causes. When Unilever bought the company in 2000, an agreement established an independent board at Ben & Jerry's to protect its social values.
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However, the two have increasingly clashed over how Ben & Jerry's communicates that social mission. In 2022, Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever for blocking its attempts to stop selling ice cream in the occupied West Bank.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Unilever was threatening to halt funding to the Ben & Jerry's Foundation, a US nonprofit that makes donations to social justice organizations. Unilever pays the foundation about $5 million annually, according to Fernandez, and it wants to know where money is being spent.
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'We have not made any threat,' he said, but added that audits form part of proper governance.
'It is our responsibility to ensure that these funds are used properly,' he said. 'It has to be allocated to areas or institutions that are absolutely in line with the ones that are part of the acquisition agreement.'
Unilever on Thursday reported that sales rose more than expected in the first quarter, mostly driven by higher prices as commodity costs surge.
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She's coming clean. In 2019, Gwen Whiting sold The Laundress — the luxury laundry and home care brand she co-founded — to Unilever for a reported $100 million. 7 Gwen Whiting launched The Fill in 2024. The members-only cleaning club holds wellness as its north star — and membership includes not only access to The Fill's home and laundry care products, but also direct advice from Whiting via her 'cleaning concierge,' and admission to an in-person and virtual forum called 'the Circle.' Emmy Park for NY Post. Now, after waiting out an agonizing five-year non-compete, non-disparagement agreement, the 49-year-old has launched a new company — The Fill — devoted to cleaning and community, and she's opening up about the regrettable Unilever deal. 'The value proposition was, '[Unilever is] a business that cares about sustainability,' and I really drank the Kool-Aid, I really believed that I was sending my baby to college,' Whiting told NYNext. 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