The original Ben and Jerry -- Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who founded their eponymous ice cream company in a garage in 1976 -- reportedly are in talks to buy back the business they sold to Unilever in 2000.
Bloomberg News exclusively reported that possibility, “citing sources familiar with the matter.” There’s a lot of potential there, although the pair will probably have to pony up much more than the $326 million Unilever paid them 25 years ago.
Consider:
- All of Unilever’s ice cream business is scheduled for a spinoff from the company sometime this year. There were unconfirmed reports that the European conglomerate tried shopping the business around but couldn’t find a buyer.
- Ben & Jerry’s has had a rocky relationship lately with its parent, suing Unilever over sales in the West Bank/Occupied Palestinian Territories (Ben & Jerry’s tried to halt sales in protest of Israeli settlements there) and, this January, over Unilever deleting a social media post on abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal healthcare “because it specifically mentioned Donald Trump,” according to several media reports.
As Bloomberg said, they may need to partner with socially minded investors in any transaction because the Ben & Jerry’s business could be valued at several billion dollars in a sale, which means the founders would need deep-pocketed financial backers to make it happen.
It’s also uncertain if Unilever would sell Ben & Jerry’s separately from the rest of the ice cream business, which includes such brands as Breyers and Magnum. “We are on track to separate the ice cream business by way of a demerger. Ben & Jerry’s is an important part of the ice cream business, and it’s not for sale,” a Unilever spokesperson told Bloomberg.
A representative for Cohen and Greenfield declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Unilever is in the process of reorganizing its holdings in an effort to improve results and has sold off several small businesses or brands. Apparently unhappy with the speed of the reorg, the company’s board replaced CEO Hein Schumacher with CFO Fernando Fernandez earlier this week.
The company is planning for the spinoff to go public primarily in Amsterdam, with secondary listings in London and New York. The U.S. is the biggest market for Unilever’s ice cream brands, which generated $8.6 billion in sales in 2023.
When the Vermont ice cream company was sold to Unilever, the deal included an independent board and a commitment to continue its social mission, which has included social and economic justice, environmental concerns, human rights and dignity and activism in general.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.