The ‘Jerry’ in Ben & Jerry’s Is Quitting

• Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned from the ice cream brand, accusing parent Unilever of not living up to its agreement about speaking out on social issues.

• Greenfield said Unilever violated a promise to give Ben & Jerry’s independence to comment on matters important to the company.

• Unilever said it disagrees with Greenfield’s perspective and has tried to hold a dialog with both him and fellow founder Ben Cohen about strengthening Ben & Jerry’s voice on such issues.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will go on without the “Jerry.”

In a letter shared by co-founder Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield wrote that he was resigning after 47 years because parent company Unilever (UL) has not lived up to promises regarding social justice the company made when it purchased the brand. The news marks the latest conflict between the company and the pair of founders since the deal in 2000.

Greenfield said the “unique merger Ben and I negotiated with Unilever” 20 years ago “enshrined our social mission and values in the company’s government structure in perpetuity,” and their right to independently speak out about that. He argued that the independence Unilever agreed to “is gone.”

The business, Greenfield said, was “always about more than ice cream,” and he and Ben always believed “our values and pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself.”

Greenfield’s “legacy deserves to be true to our values,” Cohen wrote.

Unilever’s Magnum Ice Cream Co., which Ben & Jerry’s is a part of, said in a statement to Investopedia that it was “forever grateful” to Greenfield for co-founding the ice cream company and addressing social causes. The company said it disagrees with his perspective and has “sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world.”

The company will remain focused on “carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream” of Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum said.

The co-founders have butted heads several times with Unilever over statements on social issues, including filing a lawsuit against the company last year for allegedly silencing the ice cream maker for supporting Palestinians in the war in Gaza.

U.S.-listed shares of Unilever were up slightly in early trading Wednesday.

Read the original article on Investopedia