Keep pulling the thread on Ben Cohen.
Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000 against the wishes of its co-founders, who lacked a controlling stake in the publicly traded company to prevent the takeover.
As part of its acquisition of Ben & Jerry's, Unilever agreed to a structure where the company would be a wholly owned subsidiary with an independent board of directors.
The independent board of directors at Ben & Jerry's holds legal authority over the company's social mission, ice cream quality, and use of its trademark.
In 2021, Unilever, the Ben & Jerry's independent board, and its management mutually agreed to cease selling ice cream in the occupied territories of the West Bank.
Ben Cohen alleges that the head of Israel's government threatened the CEO of Unilever with the expulsion of all Unilever businesses from Israel if Ben & Jerry's did not reverse its decision to exit the West Bank.
Unilever sold the rights to the Ben & Jerry's brand in Israel to an Israeli entity, an action Ben Cohen claims was outside Unilever's authority.
Unilever spun out its entire ice cream division, including Ben & Jerry's, into a new €9 billion company named Magnum, to which the Ben & Jerry's brand contributes 10-15% of total sales.
Ben Cohen alleges that Magnum has forbidden Ben & Jerry's from criticizing Donald Trump, which he believes damages the brand.
Ben Cohen regrets taking Ben & Jerry's public because it ultimately led to the company's acquisition by Unilever.
Ben Cohen believes that newer legal structures like B corporations and steward ownership models could have prevented the forced acquisition of Ben & Jerry's.
In the early days of Ben & Jerry's expansion, Pillsbury, then-owner of Häagen-Dazs, told distributors they would lose access to Häagen-Dazs if they continued to sell Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
The campaign to 'free Ben & Jerry's' from Magnum has gathered over 130,000 signatures on petitions and letters.