Ben & Jerry's is a Vermont-based ice cream company founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. The company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever since 2000 but operates under a unique merger agreement that gives an independent board "primary responsibility for Social Mission Priorities and the Essential Integrity of the Brand."[1] For more than four decades, Ben & Jerry's has been one of the most outspoken progressive corporate voices in American consumer goods, with social and political activism positioned as a core business identity rather than a marketing accent.
- Ben & Jerry's consistently advocates for progressive causes including racial justice, climate change, and immigration reform.
- The company has publicly criticized US government policies and uses its brand platform to promote left-leaning political positions.
- Brand identity is built around social activism and progressive values as a core business strategy, not a side initiative.
Public Political Activity
According to OpenSecrets data, Ben & Jerry's as a corporate entity made no direct contributions to any congressional or federal candidate in the 2024 election cycle.[2] The company has publicly stated that it is non-partisan and does not support specific candidates, political parties, or super PACs as a corporation.[3] Co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have spoken and donated as private citizens, separately from the company.
The company's primary political vehicle is its corporate giving and the Ben & Jerry's Foundation, which Unilever has funded with an estimated $1 million to $6 million annually since 2000 according to reporting by Semafor.[4] The foundation funds hundreds of left-leaning organizations focused on causes including racial justice, climate policy, voting rights, criminal justice reform, refugee support, and pro-Palestinian advocacy.
In 2025, Unilever announced an audit of the Ben & Jerry's Foundation following internal concerns about specific grants, and reportedly cut foundation funding amid disputes.[4] Two contested donations involve Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which Unilever declined to fund on the grounds that the organizations made "inflammatory comments" after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[5]
Public Positions and Statements
Ben & Jerry's takes documented public positions on a wide range of social and political issues. The company openly opposes voter ID laws, supports the Voting Rights Act, advocates for publicly-funded elections, supports racial-justice causes, and campaigns for what it calls "linked prosperity" and structural economic reform.[3] The brand has campaigned on climate policy, criminal justice reform (including marijuana legalization and police accountability), refugee rights, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
The company's most controversial political position is its 2021 announcement that it would stop selling its products in "Occupied Palestinian Territory," a decision that triggered intense backlash and led Unilever to sell the regional Israeli license to a local distributor in response.[4] In 2025, Ben & Jerry's independent board members publicly characterized Israel's military operations in Gaza as "genocide."
Tensions between Ben & Jerry's progressive brand and Unilever's corporate ownership escalated dramatically in 2024 and 2025. Ben & Jerry's filed lawsuits in federal court accusing Unilever of silencing brand statements supportive of Palestinian refugees, blocking an anti-Trump inauguration post, blocking mentions of Trump and Elon Musk, and ultimately firing CEO David Stever in March 2025 in retaliation for advancing the "Social Mission."[1] The litigation cited Unilever board member Nelson Peltz's public political activity, including his role in introducing Donald Trump to Elon Musk, as evidence that Unilever was not, in fact, pursuing a neutral political stance.
Products and Customer Base
Ben & Jerry's sells premium ice cream in pint cartons, bulk tubs, individual single-serve formats, and a smaller line of frozen novelties. Flavors are known for whimsical names (Cherry Garcia, Phish Food, Chunky Monkey, Half Baked, Americone Dream) and frequently for political flavor releases tied to specific advocacy campaigns. The product is sold in grocery, convenience, and big-box retail nationwide, in scoop shops, and through delivery platforms.
The customer base skews progressive-leaning but has historically been broad. The company's political positioning has cost it customers among conservative consumers — the Iraq War-era period saw a brief patriotic-alternative ice cream movement, and more recent positions on Israel and Trump have generated boycott calls from conservative customers.[4]
Founding and Ownership
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, two childhood friends from Long Island, founded Ben & Jerry's in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, after completing a $5 ice-cream-making correspondence course. The company was distinguished early on by its founders' approach to corporate governance — including a salary cap limiting top executive compensation to a multiple of the lowest-paid worker (initially 5x, then 7x, then 17x, then abandoned upon the Unilever acquisition).[6]
Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000 for approximately $326 million, with a merger agreement that established an independent board with continuing authority over the brand's social mission. In April 2025, co-founder Ben Cohen attempted to organize an investor group to repurchase the company from Unilever ahead of Unilever's spin-off of its ice cream business as a new company called Magnum, but Unilever rebuffed the buyback effort. As of writing, the dispute over editorial control between the brand's independent board and its corporate parent remains active in federal court.
Where to Find Them
Ben & Jerry's is sold direct-to-consumer through its official website (with shop-locator and product information), through Ben & Jerry's scoop shops nationwide, and through grocery, convenience, and big-box retail. Delivery is available through major grocery delivery platforms.
Footnotes
[1] NPR, "Ben & Jerry's CEO removed; lawsuit alleges Unilever has silenced its activism," March 20, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5334417/ben-jerrys-ceo-removed-unilever-lawsuit-activism
[2] OpenSecrets.org, "Ben & Jerry's recipients," accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/ben-jerry-s/recipients?id=D000042225
[3] Ben & Jerry's, "Issues We Care About: Democracy," company website, accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.benjerry.com/values/issues-we-care-about/democracy
[4] Semafor, "Unilever probes Ben & Jerry's Foundation's donations," April 21, 2025. https://www.semafor.com/article/04/21/2025/unilever-probes-ben-jerrys-foundations-donations
[5] NBC News, "Ben & Jerry's alleges parent company CEO was fired over political posts; new co-CEO," accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ben-jerrys-alleges-parent-company-ceo-was-fired-political-posts-new-co-rcna197066
[6] Newsweek, "Ben & Jerry's-Unilever lawsuit over Trump, Musk in Manhattan court," accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.newsweek.com/ben-jerrys-unilever-president-donald-trump-elon-musk-ice-cream-lawsuit-manhattan-new-york-2047282
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