Posted on 03/20/2024 5:48:58 AM PDT by Red Badger
Multinational conglomerate Unilever, the owner of some 400 brands, announced Tuesday it is spinning off its ice cream business — including major names like Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Magnum, Popsicle and Klondike — after more than a century.
The consumer goods giant said the move is part of a growth strategy to create a leaner business. At the same time, by shedding Ben & Jerry's, Unilever is ridding itself of a longtime headache.
Since its founding in 1978, Ben & Jerry's has been known for its left-leaning advocacy, and the Vermont-based ice cream maker was able to maintain an independent board of directors to continue its progressive activism even after it sold to Unilever in 2000.
But in recent years, the unique structure of the deal that allowed Ben & Jerry's to wade into controversial issues without interference has pulled Unilever into the fray, too.
The biggest lightening rod began in July 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would no longer sell its products to Israelis in the West Bank, which the company refers to as "Occupied Palestinian Territory."
The move sparked outrage from both sides of the political aisle amid accusations that the company was boycotting Israel as part of the boycott, divest, sanctions (BDS) movement, which Ben & Jerry's denied. Israel threatened to take action against Unilever over the move, and U.S. lawmakers called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a probe into the parent company.
Unilever, which has repeatedly distanced itself from Ben & Jerry's political takes and said it has never supported the BDS movement, sold the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream operations in Israel in June 2022 in an attempt to stem the controversy, but its subsidiary's activism has continued to tarnish the brand and drag Unilever with it.
Ben & Jerry's was hit with its own boycott threat last year after the company angered some Americans on Independence Day with a post on Twitter (now X) that read, "This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it."
That makes two of us. I’ve always been a poor Arizona capitalist not a greedy rich New England liberal. I couldn’t afford that stuff.
You have to be living in Mom’s basement to think that American Native Indians should control the United States.
Just think about it for a moment.
WHAT DID THEY DO TO THE COUNTRY TO ADVANCE IT, BEFORE COLUMBUS?????...NOTHING.
And the vikings discovered America years before Columbus??
WELL, WHAT DID THEY DO ABOUT IT???? NOTHING
AMERICA IS NOT ABOUT A COUNTRY OF ...LOSERS.
My Family has boycotted Ben dover and Jerkey’s crap for years, probably a decade.
I used to think it was the best — then we gave it the boot.
If you have a Publix in your area, we have found that the store brand generic Publix ice cream has some of the most amazing, creative flavors. It’s cheaper, too.
It’s not cheap either. I don’t think I have ever bought any, and that’s not a political statement.
Wasn’t so long ago that Ben & Jerry’s were hawking about what their milk cows diet was so they would produce far less farts and thereby help save the Ozone layer in the atmosphere. So Kook dope of them.
I wouldn’t buy their leftard ice cream either however good it is but lately the off brand ice creams I’ve been trying have been crap. Plus all the air they blow into it and the guar gum. Is it that damn hard or expensive to make an ice cream with milk cream, sugar and some decent flavorings? Even Blue Bell isn’t what it used to be but it’s damn pricey for what it is.
Back in 1979, I had a coupon for a free pint. First and last time I had one in the freezer. Phish Food flavor, IIRC. Knew they were up to no good from the get go.
“I did, however, think it was the highest quality of all the ‘grocery store’ ice creams. “
hardly ... all B&J ice cream uses artificial thickeners to reduce the amount of expensive butterfat used ... many flavors contain a plethora of other artificial ingredients, and always have ... B&J has simply deployed the false marketing mystique that if it’s “hippie”, then it MUST be pure ...
the BEST commercial ice cream is Haagen Daz: no thickeners, no artificial ingredients and many of their ice creams tout that they contain only five ingredients ...
all B&J ice cream uses artificial thickeners to reduce the amount of expensive butterfat used ... many flavors contain a plethora of other artificial ingredients, and always have ... B&J has simply deployed the false marketing mystique that if it’s “hippie”, then it MUST be pure ...
the BEST commercial ice cream is Haagen Daz: no thickeners, no artificial ingredients and many of their ice creams tout that they contain only five ingredients ...
“This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it.”
Hmm, but somehow two white guys can run a business on this stolen Indigenous land and not return every cent of profit to the Native Americans. Why are they living in the US? They haven’t returned their property. Sorry hypocrites.
Israel won’t. Good, less profit for them and more profit to other brands. Economics 101.
Breyers and Turkey Hill both have some products that are actual ice-cream, without various vegetable bean gums. Read the labels and the ingredients lists carefully.
How about that as a name for a new flavor? Sorry hypocrites?
Maybe someone will put some Good Humor into B&J. 🤓 I’d spin off Good Humor and Eskimo Pie and sell B&J back to the two liberal morons.
Publix is great..
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