Ben & Jerry’s was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978. Their ice cream empire is known for its commitment to sustainable agriculture, fair treatment of employees, and social activism. The company was sold to Unilever in 2000, but the founders remain involved in social and environmental movements.
Ben and Jerry refers to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, perhaps the last ice cream entrepreneurs. After studying ice cream shop in 1977, the two friends, friends since meeting in 7th grade gym class, launched their first ice cream shop in Vermont in 1978. What started as an ice cream shop, soon grew into an ice cream empire for the ice cream company, now officially known as Ben & Jerry’s Homemade & Holdings, and no longer owned by its founders. People will find Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in most grocery stores in the United States and many other countries such as Aruba, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Mexico and France.
Both Ben and Jerry could aptly be described as ex-hippies. Thus, their corporate mission reflected some of the values of that very large counterculture movement. In particular, the company was committed to creating work environments where employees were treated with dignity and paid fairly, where the products for their ice cream were primarily chosen based on a commitment to sustainable agriculture and local farms and where the business and its foundations showed deep respect for all people in the world, but especially for parents and children.
This ice cream activism, as it might be termed, has led to an extremely profitable business, in which part of the profits from the stocks have been funneled into the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, created in 1985, which offers small grants to non-profit organizations committed to contribute to positive social change. To most people, however, Ben & Jerry’s are much better known for their specialty ice cream, because many consider it rich and delicious. Indeed the success of their foundation hinges on the success of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Ben & Jerry’s is notably known for not only using milk and cream from Vermont cows not treated with bovine stimulating hormone (BST) in their ice cream mixes, but also for creating and blending flavors. Early flavors from the first scoop shop included ice cream bases such as vanilla. Later the pair began experimenting with adding various things to different flavors of ice cream, such as nuts, brownies, whole pieces of fruit, and even candy bars. The company grew rapidly, due to the quality of the ice cream and unusual flavors, and by the early 1980s, the couple had franchises outside of Vermont and had purchased a large manufacturing facility so they could meet the needs distribution in grocery stores.
The path to ice cream dominance was not always smooth, although Ben & Jerry’s approach to selling ice cream varied in many ways. For example, they often marketed their ice cream by selling it out of a VW wagon, and their commitment to the betterment of society through their foundation was marketing genius, as people could feel good about consuming and paying a little more. for the ice cream. The early 1980s were marked by several legal disputes with Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, a strong competitor in the specialty ice cream market. Haagen-Dazs tried to limit the distribution of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in stores, resulting in two lawsuits against Haagen-Dazs, which were ultimately successful.
Additionally, as different flavors have developed, many have become in high demand, and some remain classic Ben & Jerry’s offerings. Cherry Garcia (named after musician Jerry Garcia) is a mix of cherry ice cream, cherries and mini chocolate chips. Other flavors that were developed early on and remain hugely popular include New York Super Fudge Chunk, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, and ChubHubby. From time to time some flavors are “retired” while new ones are introduced. The company’s website has a “graveyard” for retired flavors and request forms if people lose their favorite retired flavor.
In 2000, Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, although the founders are still involved in some aspects of the company. Neither Ben nor Jerry has any more official titles with the company. Instead both founders have used their fame to influence a variety of political, social and environmental movements.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
