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."
I haven’t bought Ben & Jerry’s in many, many years. I did, however, think it was the highest quality of all the ‘grocery store’ ice creams. However, Talenti is very close and is my go to brand, provided it’s on sale.
I have literally never tried it. I never will.
I heard about them and that they were a bunch of Leftist Kooks when I was in high school back in the mid 80s. I vowed then and there they would never get so much as a penny of my money. They never have.
People are walking away from many corporate brands now, based on "messaging" Leftists' perverse and wholly ideological bent.
The "mulvaney-ing" of so many brands, even large corporations like Disney, are ongoing. Delightful to watch.
Y’all don’t mix business with your personal life.
If you can’t do that you don’t belong in the business.
Genocide flavored ice cream.
Ben & Jerry's Leftist Ice Cream kept giving Unilever too many "brain freezes."
They should hire a trans spokesperson.....that fixes everything!
Unilever has been in the ice cream business for a hundred years, maybe more. They are spinning off all their ice cream brands, not just Ben’s. B+J makes a more attention grabbing headline.
Paraphrasing the marketing genius Michael Jordan,
“Conservatives buy ice cream too!”
Ben and Jerry’s is the best ice cream with the worst leftist management.
Looking for a politically neutral alternative that is nearly as good ...
True. Maybe ice cream is not that profitable and it has high sugar content, very unhealthy.
Unilever is Deep State.
Even if they jettison B&J, Unilever will STILL be Deep State.
Meanwhile, from a couple of weeks ago...
Check out what they got for siting there.
And I wonder how Unilever got away without requiring CoupFlu vaxxes for its employees...
Bet there’s an interesting story there.
Holocaust Hashberry. Burnt Jew Jambo. Free Palestine Pistachio. Al Aqsa Almond Crunch. BJ’s 2024 new flavors, get ‘em while they’re cold.
Nah, no Jew hate in my freezer. Ever.
Ben & Jerry’s is the Prius of ice cream.
Magnum Bars are the best!!
Ben & Jerry = self loathing, Golden Calf worshiping JINO’s
“Looking for a politically neutral alternative that is nearly as good ...”
There are plenty.
If Conservatives would simply abandon the BJ brand, distributors would fill the void.
It’s all about distributors & marketers when it comes to brand prevalence/availability, and they only understand one message:
Sales (or lack thereof).
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