Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Accuses Unilever of Blocking Palestine-Themed Ice Cream
Ben Cohen, co-founder of the globally renowned ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, has accused its parent company, Unilever, of preventing the launch of a new ice cream flavour meant to express “solidarity with Palestine.”
Cohen revealed plans to independently produce the flavour under his personal activist brand, Ben’s Best, after claiming that Unilever had barred the company from publicly addressing the issue. The new flavour – a watermelon sorbet – draws inspiration from the fruit’s colours, which mirror those of the Palestinian flag.
“I’m doing what they couldn’t,” Cohen said in a video shared on Instagram. “I’m making a watermelon-flavoured ice cream that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and repairing the damage that was done there.”
The move marks the latest chapter in the ongoing feud between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever. Since acquiring the ice cream company in 2000, Unilever has clashed repeatedly with its founders over how far the brand should go in its social and political activism.
Cohen and co-founder Jerry Greenfield have long insisted that Ben & Jerry’s should remain independent in its mission to promote social justice causes. In 2021, the company stopped selling its products in Israeli-occupied territories – a decision that prompted Unilever to sell its Israeli operations to a local licensee, allowing sales to continue in the region.
Cohen said that the new watermelon sorbet will be part of a broader dessert series under Ben’s Best, spotlighting causes that Ben & Jerry’s has allegedly been “silenced” from supporting. The series follows previous activist-themed flavours, including “Bernie’s Back,” created in support of former U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Greenfield recently stepped down from Ben & Jerry’s, citing concerns that Unilever’s influence had compromised the brand’s independence. “Jerry has a really big heart and this conflict with Unilever was breaking it,” Cohen told the BBC earlier.
Unilever has not yet responded to requests for comment.
