By Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s is set to switch corporate owners next month, but for Ben Cohen, the counterculture brand’s co-founder, it’s a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
As of November, Ben & Jerry’s will be owned by Magnum Ice Cream Co when it is officially spun out from its current parent, London-based Unilever. Cohen expects the simmering conflict between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever to continue as he carries on a quest to try to buy back the brand he co-founded in 1978.
Cohen said Magnum is still censoring Ben & Jerry’s ability to speak out on progressive causes like Palestinian rights and U.S. immigration. The brand last year claimed in a lawsuit that Unilever had violated a hands-off policy it had agreed to under which it acknowledged the ice cream maker’s independent board and its responsibility for its social mission.
“There is no difference between how Unilever is muzzling Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum,” Cohen told Reuters in an interview, saying the same executives are demonstrating a similar “muzzling prowess.”
Unilever’s former president of its ice cream business, Peter ter Kulve, is now the CEO of Magnum. Filings in the lawsuit assert that he banned the brand from making any statements criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump.
Cohen added that the conflict will grow when the Magnum spinoff is complete, because Ben & Jerry’s will account for a larger percentage of the company’s business.
“The ongoing conflict is more problematic for Magnum than Unilever,” he said.
Ben & Jerry’s brought in about 1.1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) in revenue in 2024, making it third-largest of the brands in Magnum, which brought in 7.9 billion euros in revenue in that time, according to a June 2025 company presentation. Unilever posted revenues of 60.8 billion euros in 2024.
Cohen is trying to buy back Ben & Jerry’s for $1.5 billion to $2 billion with a group of investors, but said Unilever and Magnum have refused to hand over key financial information. He did not name the investors.
Cohen has previously met with ter Kulve in Vermont, where the company is headquartered, and Europe. Efforts to settle the lawsuit have been unsuccessful.
Unilever did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cohen plans to keep trying to buy back the brand.
“What they believe is that they can have the benefits of owning Ben & Jerry’s in terms of sales and profitability…without dealing with the stands that Ben & Jerry’s is driven to take based on its social mission,” he said.
Founded by Cohen with business partner Jerry Greenfield, Ben & Jerry’s became nationally known for whimsically named flavors that drew on 60s-era psychedelia. “Cherry Garcia” was named after the Grateful Dead’s lead guitarist Jerry Garcia. Another flavor, the discontinued “Wavy Gravy,” was named for the entertainer-peace activist who made announcements at the Woodstock music festival in 1969.
Cohen and Greenfield sold the brand to Unilever in 2000.
Greenfield quit his role as brand ambassador last month in a protest against Unilever’s actions.
Strife between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever erupted in 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling in the West Bank.
(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
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