Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield Resigns, Says Parent Company Is Silencing the Ice Cream Brand’s Activism
After nearly half a century of serving up more than just ice cream, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, has announced that he is leaving the company he helped build from the ground up. His departure, revealed late Tuesday night on September 16, is more than just a retirement—it’s a resignation tied to frustration and disappointment. Greenfield claims that the ice cream brand, known worldwide for its quirky flavors and passionate social activism, is being silenced by its parent company.
It’s hard to separate Ben & Jerry’s from the activism it has stood for since the very beginning. Whether it was climate change, racial justice, or voting rights, the brand was never shy about speaking up. For decades, customers expected their ice cream to come with a message, and that’s exactly what made it special. Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, his lifelong friend and co-founder, turned a small Vermont scoop shop into an international symbol of how business could be used as a force for good. But according to Greenfield, the larger corporate structure that owns Ben & Jerry’s is no longer comfortable with the company’s voice.
The announcement feels like the end of an era. Greenfield has been with Ben & Jerry’s for 47 years, shepherding it from its humble beginnings to its current global reach. Along the way, the brand became synonymous with speaking truth to power, often stirring up controversy but never backing down. The idea that those values are now being muted is painful for both the man behind the company and the loyal fans who have supported it for decades.
Greenfield said that activism was always woven into the DNA of Ben & Jerry’s. From flavors like “Justice ReMix’d” to “Churn Out the Vote,” the ice cream didn’t just fill freezers—it carried messages meant to inspire change. But he says the parent company, Unilever, has been pulling back, discouraging bold stances and asking the brand to tone down its voice. For Greenfield, who has always seen activism as inseparable from the ice cream, that was a step too far. His resignation was not about walking away quietly, but about taking a stand one last time.
The decision leaves fans with mixed feelings. On one hand, there is gratitude for everything Jerry Greenfield brought to the table. He was not just a businessman but a storyteller, an advocate, and someone who believed that even dessert could have meaning. On the other hand, there is concern about the future. Without his leadership, will Ben & Jerry’s still feel like Ben & Jerry’s? Or will it become just another ice cream brand stripped of the spirit that made it unique?
For many, the story of Ben & Jerry’s has always been about more than the ice cream. It has been about two friends who dared to believe they could make a difference with a scoop and a cone. Greenfield’s departure doesn’t erase that history, but it does cast a shadow on the company’s future. Fans are left to hope that the activism he championed for so long will somehow survive the changes happening behind the scenes.
As Jerry Greenfield steps away after 47 years, the message is clear: he is not giving up on the causes he believes in, even if the company he built no longer has the same freedom to speak out. His resignation may mark the end of a chapter, but the legacy of what he and Ben created will continue to inspire. The question now is whether Ben & Jerry’s will keep that spirit alive or allow it to be buried under the weight of corporate control.
