A fresh controversy involving Ben & Jerry's and co-founder Ben Cohen has emerged after Cohen claimed parent company Unilever blocked an initiative to launch a flavor carrying a message of "solidarity with Palestine."
The BBC reported Wednesday morning that Cohen announced he will independently launch the ice cream as part of a personal series focused on social and political issues that the company is barred from addressing. Cohen said the flavor will be watermelon sorbet – the watermelon has emerged as a symbol of Palestinian identity in recent years because its colors match the Palestinian flag – red, white, and black.
"I'm doing what they couldn't," Cohen said in an Instagram video. "I'm making a watermelon-flavoured ice cream that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for repairing the damage that was done there." Cohen added he is inviting the public to propose names for the ice cream and suggest mix-in ideas.
This marks another episode in the continuing confrontation between Ben & Jerry's and Unilever, which purchased the company in 2000. Disputes have flared previously over the brand's social policy, and in 2021, Ben & Jerry's announced it would cease selling its products in areas under Israeli control in the West Bank. In response, Unilever sold the local franchise to an Israeli entrepreneur, which allowed continued sales of the ice cream in Judea and Samaria.
Cohen will launch the series under the Ben's Best brand, which he created in 2016 to support Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Cohen said the brand will address social issues that Unilever's management prevents Ben & Jerry's from engaging with publicly.
Last month, co-founder Jerry Greenfield retired from the company after decades, arguing its independence had been undermined. Cohen referenced the retirement at the time and said, "Jerry has a really big heart and this conflict with Unilever was breaking it." Cohen said he himself plans "to continue to work inside the company to advocate for its independence so that it can actualize the social mission, the values that it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years."
