Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen claimed that the UK-based Unilever company had blocked the ice cream company from producing a watermelon-flavored sweet treat designed to show solidarity with Gaza.
In a post on Instagram, Cohen shared that in opposition to Unilever’s decision, he would make the ice cream independently of Ben & Jerry’s.
“I’m doing what they [Ben & Jerry’s] couldn’t. I’m making a watermelon ice cream that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and to call for repairing the damage that was done there... so the world does not look the other way,” he stated.
In previous years, the ice cream company has used its platform to highlight issues like marriage equality, the refugee crisis, and climate change.
Cohen, asking for the public’s help in naming the ice cream and deciding ingredients, added, “Revolutions are creative. Let’s see some of that creativity.”
“Sweet resistance” and “from the river to the seeds” were among the names suggested.
Ben and Jerry's Israel stressed that the company is an independent company and is unconnected to the decision made by Cohen.
The not-so-sweet relationship between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever
Cohen, who has been arrested while protesting in support of Gaza, has repeatedly expressed that relations with the parent company have soured over the conflict.
Ben & Jerry's claimed in a lawsuit filed last November that Unilever silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and threatened to dismantle its board and sue its members over the issue.
Co-founder Jerry Greenfield also quit the company last month over Unilever's stance on the Gaza conflict.
A rift erupted between the two in 2021 after Ben & Jerry's said it would stop selling its products in the West Bank because doing so was inconsistent with its values, leading some investors to divest from Unilever shares.
The ice cream maker then sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel to its licensee there, which allowed marketing in the West Bank and Israel to continue. That lawsuit was settled in 2022.
Reuters contributed to this report.