, Columnist
Ben & Jerry’s Vs. Unilever Is the End of Corporate Do-Gooderism
When the conglomerate bought the progressive ice cream maker, its social stances were a selling point. Then tastes changed.
So much for “peace, love & ice cream.”
Photographer: Birgit Krippner/Bloomberg
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When Unilever Plc. agreed to buy Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, the consumer giant was looking to acquire not just the small Vermont company’s ice cream operation but also its quirky, do-gooder ethos, which Unilever hoped to inject into its larger corporate culture.
For two decades, it was a happy union. Ben & Jerry’s grew into a €1 billion brand and got to preserve its social mission and independence, while Unilever capitalized on its position as the poster child for the corporate doing-well-by-doing-good movement.