Ben & Jerry’s founders are trying to take their brand back after parent company Unilever allegedly barred them from criticizing President Donald Trump in the lead-up to his return to the White House.
Cofounder Ben Cohen is now publicly lobbying to buy Ben & Jerry’s back as Unilever prepares to spin off its entire ice cream division. The plea follows years of internal strife over the brand’s progressive messaging, culminating in a recently revealed claim that Unilever blocked the company from posting any anti-Trump political statement during his most recent inauguration.
“Despite four decades of progressive social activism — and years of challenging policies under both Democratic and Republican presidents — criticizing Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with ‘Peace, Love, and Ice Cream,’” Ben & Jerry’s attorneys recently wrote in a court filing against Unilever.
Ben & Jerry’s complaints about Unilever tamping down on their political messaging came to a head when Peter ter Kulve, president of the company’s ice cream division, allegedly blocked a planned anti-Trump Inauguration Day post — then bragged at an “ice cream townhall” that Nelson Peltz, another Unilever executive, had introduced Trump to Elon Musk.
“Within twenty-four hours of Mr. ter Kelve blocking the Inauguration Post on the grounds that it was ‘partisan,’ he hosted an Ice Cream Townhall, where he publicly touted that Mr. Peltz had been the one to introduce Elon Musk to Donald Trump,” the lawsuit reads.
Ben & Jerry’s activist streak, once a source of mutual pride, has become a corporate liability for Unilever in recent years. Controversies surrounding Ben & Jerry’s statements on social justice and foreign policy — particularly its decision to halt sales in Israeli territories in 2021 — drew backlash from shareholders and political leaders alike. Unilever eventually sold off its Israeli operations in defiance of the brand’s wishes, igniting internal legal friction and spotlighting the deep cultural rift between the conglomerate and its supposedly autonomous subsidiary.
“In the year 2000, Unilever loved us for who we were,” Cohen said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “Now we’ve gone separate ways in our relationship. We just need them to set us free.”
Now, as Unilever exits the ice cream business, Cohen is scrambling to line up progressive investors in hopes of taking the brand independent again. But with the company’s social justice baggage now viewed as a liability, its unclear whether the brand can find a buyer without shedding the politics its founders see as sacred.
The original 2000 acquisition deal allowed Ben & Jerry’s to retain control over its “social mission,” a clause that proved combustible as the brand veered further leftward — championing causes from Black Lives Matter to land reparations for American Indians.
“Ben & Jerry’s is a company with a soul,” Cohen continued. “Business is the most powerful force in our society, and for that, it has responsibility to the society.”
Unilever’s $7.5 billion ice cream business includes other major names like Magnum and Breyers, and the company has not yet disclosed whether it will sell Ben & Jerry’s as a standalone asset or include it in a broader IPO.
Unilever did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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