Ben & Jerry’s co‑founder Jerry Greenfield resigns after dispute with Unilever over Gaza stance

Jerry Greenfield, co‑founder of Ben & Jerry’s, resigned from the ice cream company on Wednesday, saying he could no longer "in good conscience" remain an employee of an organisation he said had been "silenced" by its parent company, Unilever.

Greenfield’s departure, announced in an open letter shared by co‑founder Ben Cohen on X, comes amid a long‑running dispute that began in 2021 after Unilever moved to roll back an agreement that had allowed Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling its products in territories Israel occupies. The Vermont‑based brand has since sued Unilever, alleging efforts to curb its public advocacy, and has publicly described the Gaza conflict as "genocide."

In his letter, Greenfield said the company had "lost its independence" and that "it's profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone." Unilever’s ice cream arm, the Magnum Ice Cream Company, issued a statement thanking Greenfield for his role in co‑founding the brand and said it "disagree[d] with his perspective" while seeking to engage the co‑founders "in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values‑based position in the world." Magnum said Greenfield stepped down as a brand ambassador and is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit.

The resignation intensifies a governance and values clash that has shadowed Ben & Jerry’s relationship with Unilever since the multinational acquired the company in 2000. Ben & Jerry’s has repeatedly pursued outspoken social and political campaigns, drawing both praise and consumer backlash. The company has partnered with public figures and movements on issues ranging from racial justice to policing reform and LGBTQ rights, and it has rebranded or launched flavours tied to activism.

Company officials and the co‑founders have sparred publicly about control and the brand’s mission as Unilever prepares to list its ice cream business. Ben & Jerry’s has called for a spin‑off of the brand ahead of a planned November listing of Magnum Ice Cream, which Unilever has said will retain a 20 percent stake that it expects to reduce over time. Co‑founder Ben Cohen has separately pushed to "free Ben & Jerry’s" to protect its social values; according to Ben & Jerry’s, a proposal Cohen said he had pursued to sell the brand to investors at a valuation between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion was rejected by Magnum leadership. Magnum’s chief executive, Peter ter Kulve, has publicly rebuffed Cohen’s demands.

Legal action has added another layer of complexity. Ben & Jerry’s filed suit against Unilever alleging the company moved to strip the brand of decision‑making authority and to silence its political expression. Unilever has maintained that it remains committed to Ben & Jerry’s three‑part mission of product, economic and social goals and that it seeks to carry forward the brand’s legacy while managing it within its broader ice cream portfolio.

The dispute has played out alongside high‑profile protests and public incidents involving the co‑founders. In May, Ben Cohen was removed from a Senate hearing after disrupting testimony and chanting in protest of the US government's policy toward Israel. Ben & Jerry’s past campaigns have included a 2020 partnership with Colin Kaepernick and a 2021 flavor tied to Rep. Cori Bush’s policing reform proposal; the company also drew widespread attention in 2023 for a Fourth of July message supporting the Land Back movement, which led to calls for a boycott from some customers.

Ben & Jerry’s was founded by Cohen and Greenfield in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, in 1978. The company retained an explicitly activist brand identity after its acquisition by Unilever in 2000, a structure that the co‑founders and Unilever leadership agreed at the time would preserve a degree of independence for Ben & Jerry’s social mission. The dispute over that independence has persisted for years and has become a central issue as Unilever readies its ice cream operation for a public listing.

Greenfield’s resignation is the latest high‑profile development in the dispute. Magnum’s statement expressed appreciation for his decades of involvement and reiterated the company’s commitment to Ben & Jerry’s mission. The legal case and governance disagreements are likely to remain focal points as Unilever moves forward with the planned listing and as stakeholders continue to debate the balance between corporate ownership and the brand’s longstanding activism.