Ben & Jerry’s co-founder unveils plans to launch ice cream for Palestine

PALESTINE – Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen has said the brand’s parent company, Unilever, blocked it from launching an ice cream flavour in support of Palestine.

In a video post shared on social media platform Instagram, Cohen said that Unilever/The Magnum Ice Cream Company (Unilever’s soon-to-be spun-off ice cream business) had “a while back” prevented the brand’s creation of a new ice cream flavour to “call for peace in Palestine” amid the Israel-Gaza conflict.

He revealed that, instead, he now plans to launch the flavour independently, calling on the public to submit ideas for its ingredient formulation, name, and packaging design.

The recipe will centre on watermelon, which has become a widely used symbol of solidarity with Palestine because its colours (red, black, white, and green) match those of the Palestinian flag.

This development is the latest in a protracted dispute between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, which acquired the Ben & Jerry’s brand for US$326 million in 2000.

Ben & Jerry’s co-founders, Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have accused Unilever of standing in the way of their social mission and silencing them on various political issues. As a result, Greenfield announced his resignation from the ice cream brand after 47 years last month.

In his video announcing the new Palestine-themed flavour, Cohen referenced the brand’s earlier refusal to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel – a move he said Unilever also blocked.

Ben & Jerry’s announced in 2021 that it would no longer sell its ice cream in the occupied territories, but Unilever sold its Israeli business to a local licensee, enabling the products to continue being sold in the West Bank.

In a statement, a Unilever spokesperson said: “Throughout our ownership of Ben & Jerry’s, we have been committed to its unique three-part mission – product, economic and social. We have always sought to work constructively with the Ben & Jerry’s teams to make sure we stayed true to the original agreement around the progressive, non-partisan social mission.”

Unilever’s The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) is currently on track to complete its demerger by the end of 2025, Unilever revealed last week. Following the demerger, Unilever will retain a 19.9% stake in the newly independent TMICC.

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