It was looking good for The Magnum Ice Cream Company—Unilever’s soon-to-be-spun-off ice cream division.
All the ingredients were in place: a portfolio of leading brands including Cornetto, Klondike, and the titular Magnum; an installed base of more than three million ice cream cabinets; and the instant advantage of being the largest player in the very attractive global ice cream category. Scale, share, brands, profits—what could possibly go wrong?
The answer: founders.
One of the other mega-brands in Magnum’s new portfolio is Ben & Jerry’s. And both Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are very unhappy. Jerry is so unhappy, he’s leaving, as he announced in a letter shared by Cohen on Sept. 15.
When Ben & Jerry’s was sold to Unilever in 2000, the founders were promised autonomy and freedom to continue the brand’s social causes. But soon, both Ben and Jerry felt Unilever began to stray from that commitment.
The relationship reached its nadir in 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s pulled distribution from occupied areas of the West Bank in protest at Israel’s actions. Unilever responded by selling the brand’s rights to a local distributor and trade promptly resumed. Ben and Jerry sued Unilever. Unilever contested.
At the heart of the tussle is an almost impossible difference in approach. Unilever is too big to risk alienating stakeholders. Like any other global multi-brand corporation it seeks to avoid risk and keep things calm and quiet. In contrast, Ben and Jerry’s social conscience is baked into the DNA of the brand they created. The brand has to take risks and must speak out.
Same brand, totally different brand management.
The famous founders saw the creation of Magnum as a perfect opportunity to rescue their brand from what they perceive as continued censorship and brand inconsistency. But the new company, which has openly touted Ben & Jerry’s as a star asset, appears determined to operate without the baggage of Ben or Jerry and their long-running demands.
The standoff could not come at a worse time. The Magnum Ice Cream Company is currently seeking investors ahead of a mid-November IPO. Every line of corporate communication should be about stability, growth and zero risk. A messy feud with famous founders—especially ones this gifted in guerrilla marketing—is a disaster for the nascent company.
So far Magnum hasn’t blinked. It “disagrees with Greenfield’s perspective” and appears hell-bent on ignoring the founders of its most famous brand.
That’s a legitimate corporate position. After all, Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s for a reported $326 million a quarter-century ago.
But it’s a strategic mistake because it ignores the crucial, often overlooked role that founders play in brands, not just in their foundation but also their ongoing success.