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September 17, 2025
Jerry Greenfield Resigns: Jerry Greenfield believes the ice cream brand that built its name on activism has been shut down by Unilever. He has chosen to resign.
As a co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, Greenfield said the company no longer has the freedom it once did and that its social mission has been stripped away under Unilever’s ownership.
Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield’s partner in building the brand, revealed the news on social media Wednesday morning.
The announcement marked another chapter in the long-running strain between Unilever, which took over the company in 2000, and the founders, who have consistently spoken out on social causes.
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“I never thought I’d have to say this,” Cohen wrote on Instagram. “After 47 years, Jerry has made the hard choice to leave the company we started together.” He also shared a statement from Greenfield alongside his message.
Jerry Greenfield said in his statement that he could no longer, “in good conscience,” remain with the company he and Ben Cohen launched back in 1978.
At 74, he reflected on the deal with Unilever in 2000, saying the independence once promised to Ben & Jerry’s had vanished. “Now more than ever, we need to stand for justice, equity, and our shared humanity,” Greenfield wrote.
“Instead, Ben & Jerry’s has been quieted and pushed aside, all to avoid upsetting those in power.” When Unilever took over Ben & Jerry’s, it pledged to preserve an independent board.
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That setup was designed to safeguard the company’s social mission and keep its activism protected. It was a rare deal, meant to ensure the founders still had a voice even after the sale.
“It’s heartbreaking to accept that this independence—the core of our agreement with Unilever—no longer exists,” Greenfield wrote in his statement.
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever. The company accused its parent of trying to weaken the independent board and block efforts to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Unilever denied the allegations. Unilever is now preparing to spin off its ice cream division, including Ben & Jerry’s, into a new business called the Magnum Ice Cream Company.
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On Wednesday, the new company released a statement thanking Jerry Greenfield for “his service and support over many decades.”
“We disagree with his view, but we’ve invited both founders to join a constructive dialogue on how to keep Ben & Jerry’s true to its values in today’s world,” the statement said.
Only a week earlier, 74-year-old Ben Cohen staged a protest outside the hotel where the Magnum Ice Cream Company was outlining its investor plans, Reuters reported.
On Instagram, he shared photos from the demonstration and wrote, “If Ben & Jerry’s is going to defend what really matters, we must remain independent.”
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have a long history of speaking out on political issues. They’ve backed movements such as Black Lives Matter and reforms to the criminal justice system.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s said it would pull its products from the Israeli-occupied territories, calling sales there “inconsistent” with its core values.
More recently, in May, Cohen was arrested after interrupting a Senate committee hearing to protest U.S. funding for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of ousting its chief executive because he allowed the brand to speak out on political matters.
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Unilever denied that claim, saying it had made repeated efforts to work with the independent board created under the merger deal.
“From the start, Ben and I felt that our values and the pursuit of justice were bigger than the company itself,” Jerry Greenfield wrote on Wednesday.
“If the business couldn’t defend the principles we stood for, then it wasn’t worth being in business at all.”
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