🔗 Share this article

One of the co-founders behind the famous frozen dessert company Ben & Jerry's has claimed that corporate owner Unilever prevented the launch for a new Palestine-themed frozen dessert product.

Ben Cohen, that established the company with Jerry Greenfield, announced how he will personally create the controversial product within an individual collection highlighting causes Ben & Jerry's has been barred from addressing publicly.

Ongoing Dispute Involving Founders and Corporate Owner

This latest announcement escalates the ongoing tension between the internationally recognized dessert company and its corporate parent, the British consumer goods corporation that has owned the ice cream brand since 2000.

The co-founders have asserted how the parent company and their ice cream division the Magnum brand unlawfully blocked Ben & Jerry's from "fulfilling its ethical commitments".

The Fruit Flavor as an Emblem for Support

The entrepreneur announced through an Instagram video how he is creating an innovative watermelon-flavored sorbet, asking for consumer ideas regarding the product's name plus additional components.

“I'm doing what they couldn't,” Mr. Cohen declared from a cooking set. “I'm creating a watermelon-flavored frozen dessert that advocates for permanent peace for Palestinians while demanding addressing the harm that occurred in the region.”

This particular fruit has become a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people due to its coloration, that mirror the colors in Palestine's national banner – the distinctive four-color pattern.

Previous Activism and Recent Changes

In 2021, the ice cream company ceased sales of its products in areas under Israeli control, resulting in Unilever selling the Israeli operation to an Israeli distributor, thus allowing ongoing distribution within the occupied West Bank.

The new dessert series is being created through Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the activist ice cream brand that originally created several years back to support former US presidential candidate Senator Sanders via the product "Bernie's Return".

Leadership Shifts plus Upcoming Plans

Mr. Cohen indicated that he plans to create additional ice cream flavors focusing on issues that Ben & Jerry's was silenced from speaking about openly by Unilever.

This development follows partner Mr. Greenfield stepped down his position at the company recently, after decades of involvement, citing worries regarding how the company's autonomy was compromised after Unilever's decision to curb their advocacy work.

At that time, Mr. Cohen remarked that “My partner has strong compassion and this conflict with our parent company was deeply distressing him."

"My heart compels me to continue to work within the organization to fight for its independence so that the company can actualise its ethical purpose, the principles which established its foundation while upholding for over 40 years," he explained to media outlets.

• Parent company limitations on social activism
• Independent flavor creation by original creators
• Watermelon flavor serving as social statement
• Continuing disagreements between corporate ownership and ethical values