Do we like Ben & Jerry's?
Premium ice cream brand founded 1978 in Burlington, Vermont; now part of Amsterdam-based Magnum Ice Cream Company.
Our score: 5 out of 10. Mixed: the values are real, but its independent board is in a court fight with its owner. We'd hold off until that is settled.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started the company in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, and it's still based there. They sold it to Unilever in 2000 for $326 million. The deal came with an unusual independent board to protect its social mission.
The friction with Unilever grew over years. Ben & Jerry's sued in 2025, accusing Unilever of firing its CEO, David Stever, over the brand's activism. It also sued over claims Unilever silenced its support for Palestinian refugees. Co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned in September 2025, saying the brand had been "silenced".
After the Magnum spin-off, the fight moved on to the board itself. MarketScreener reported that new rules, including nine-year term limits, pushed out the chair and two other directors. Ben & Jerry's independent directors went to court. Magnum says it is committed to the brand's three-part mission of profit, product and social impact.
The court case has been narrowed. Just Food reported a US court decision that removed Ben & Jerry's itself from the case and made Magnum the main defendant. One governance claim partly survives. Magnum says the brand is thriving. Cohen says Magnum is destroying long-term value.
The brand is still campaigning. CEO Jochanan Senf wrote in Fortune that it worked with the ACLU on voter education this election season, and raised nearly $100,000 for pro-democracy groups. We give it a middling score because the independence behind those values is in doubt.