THE NARRATIVE: Ben
& Jerry's will be destroyed as a brand if it remains with parent
company Magnum, the company's co-founder Ben Cohen has told the BBC.
- His remarks are the latest in a long-running spat between the ice cream brand and its parent company over its ability to express its social activism and the continued independence of its board.
On Monday the Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) started trading on the European stock market - spinning off from owner Unilever.
A spokesperson for Magnum said the firm wanted to build and strengthen Ben & Jerry's "powerful, non-partisan values-based position in the world".
Ben & Jerry's brand could be destroyed, says co-founder
Pritti Mistry Business reporter
Updated 26 sec ago
“If the company continues to be owned by Magnum, not only will the values be lost but the essence of the brand will be lost,” he said.
Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve told the Financial Times on Sunday that Ben & Jerry’s founders — Cohen and Jerry Greenfield — were in their 70s and “at a certain moment they need to hand over to a new generation.”
- Greenfield left the company this year over concerns that its social mission was being stifled.
Cohen said: “As they destroy Ben and Jerry’s values, they will destroy that following and they will destroy that brand. It’ll become just another piece of frozen mush that is just going to lose a lot of market share.”
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