Ben & Jerry’s co-founder blasts Unilever over Gaza flavor ban
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Ben & Jerry’s co-founder slams Unilever for blocking Gaza-themed flavor and launches a campaign to restore the brand’s activist mission.
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Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, speaks at a news conference on the formation of 'Up In Arms', a campaign to spotlight wasteful Pentagon and military spending, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 12, 2025 (AP)
The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s has accused the company’s current owner of participating in what he described as a movement of “corporate butt kissing” toward Donald Trump, claiming the management blocked the ice-cream brand from producing a flavor in support of peace in Gaza.
Ben Cohen told The Guardian that Unilever was carrying out what he called a “corporate attack on free speech” by preventing the launch of a special flavor meant to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is reported that the flavor had already received approval from Ben & Jerry’s independent board and was first proposed around a year ago.
Magnum, the ice-cream division of the group, confirmed that it had not moved forward with the board’s proposal for a Palestine-themed product this past summer.
Cohen has launched a “Free Ben & Jerry’s” campaign aimed at convincing Unilever to sell the brand to a group of socially conscious investors who, he says, have committed to letting it carry on its “social mission”.
Cohen calls on companies to take a stand against Trump
He stated that with an increasingly authoritarian Trump in the White House, now is the time for “companies and anyone who believes in justice, freedom, and peace” to take a stand, further emphasizing that this is precisely the moment when it is most important for Ben & Jerry’s to have the ability to raise its voice.
“It seems like since Trump got elected anything that Trump is against, DEI, black history, protesters’ rights to free speech, all those things got censored," the Ben & Jerry's co-founder added.
Cohen’s criticisms, supported by a video he posted on Instagram, mark the latest clash in the bitter dispute between the brand’s founders and owners, while Unilever plans to spin off the Magnum Ice Cream Company into a separate business with listings in Amsterdam and secondary markets in London and New York.
Magnum stated that the independent members of Ben & Jerry’s board have never overseen the brand’s commercial strategy. Regarding the proposed pro-Palestinian flavor, a spokesperson explained that while the board can make recommendations, management decided it was not the right time to move forward with developing the product.
