Ben & Jerry's And Unilever Clash Over Gaza As Social Stances Threaten A $1 Billion Brand

Ben & Jerry's and Unilever are no longer the perfect match they seemed to be 20 years ago. In 2000, Unilever bought the progressive ice cream company, hoping to bottle some of its feel-good vibes and sprinkle them across its corporate culture. For a while, it worked. Ben & Jerry's became a billion-dollar brand, growing while still standing for things like same-sex marriage, climate action and even Occupy Wall Street.

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But times have changed. Last week, Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever, accusing the parent company of breaking an agreement by blocking its support for Palestinian rights. Ben & Jerry's claims Unilever threatened to "dismantle" its independent board and sue board members if the subsidiary issued a statement calling for "peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire" in the Middle East. This is according to a Nov. 13 complaint filed in federal court in New York. The suit also alleges Peter ter Kulve, president of Unilever's ice cream business and Jeff Eglash, Unilever's global head of litigation, warned Ben & Jerry's employees of "professional reprisals" if they pushed for a ceasefire.

Unilever responded, saying its "heart goes out to all the victims of the tragic events in the Middle East." But it firmly rejected the claims made by Ben & Jerry's social mission board. "We will defend our case very strongly," a spokesperson said in comments emailed to ESG Dive on Tuesday.

This rift goes back to 2021, when Ben & Jerry's decided to stop selling in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, stating it was "inconsistent with our values."

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For Unilever, this is about more than just ice cream. It's about dollars and cents. Gaza and its implications for financial performance are business issues for them. But Ben & Jerry's sees it differently, viewing it as a moral stand. And that's where things get messy.

The clash isn't unique to these two brands. "Across corporate America, the calculus for companies has shifted wildly when it comes to speaking out and taking a stand," wrote columnist Beth Kowlitt of Bloomberg. "No topic today is apolitical, no issue uncontroversial." Supporting social or environmental causes comes with risks – boycotts, backlash and even falling profits. Brands like Bud Light, Disney and Target have learned the hard way that speaking out can cost.

Unilever used to focus heavily on brands with purpose. Vaseline helped Syrian refugees, Hellmann's fought food waste and Ben & Jerry's was the crown jewel, the gold standard for doing good. But under pressure from activist investors and flagging results, Unilever started scaling back. Plastic reduction goals were cut and living wage commitments softened.

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Meanwhile, Ben & Jerry's stuck to its guns. When Unilever took over, its independent board was created to protect its social mission. That division – board for social causes, Unilever for the business – used to work. Not anymore. The line between mission and money has blurred and Unilever is learning this the hard way.

This isn't just about ice cream. It's about the end of an era. Companies once paid a premium for brands like Ben & Jerry's, hoping their values would rub off. Coca-Cola bought Odwalla, PepsiCo picked up Naked Juice and Colgate snagged Tom's of Maine. But the shine of those "halo brands" has dimmed. Odwalla and Honest Tea are gone. Naked Juice was sold off.

Unilever plans to spin off or sell Ben & Jerry's and its ice cream business. But will buyers see the brand's values as an asset or a liability? That's the billion-dollar question.

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