Ben & Jerry’s has been making delicious ice cream since school friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company back in 1978. Their aim is – and always has been – to make the best possible ice cream in the nicest possible way.
A progressive mission
Ben & Jerry’s is a pioneering super-premium ice cream maker with a three-part mission focused on social, product and economic values that are baked into the business.
The Vermont-based company strives for linked prosperity across those values which has led to many firsts including making a significant commitment in 2010 to source ingredients from and support the global Fairtrade movement. This led to the sourcing of Fairtrade bananas, coffee, cocoa, sugar and vanilla throughout its business globally.
Fairtrade means farmers get a fair price for the goods they make and helps to tackle the root causes of social injustice – poverty in particular – in supply chains.
In 2022, Ben & Jerry’s became the first ice cream company to commit to Tony’s Open Chain which means the cocoa beans that go into making its chocolate ice cream are fully traceable to provide more justice for cocoa farmers.
The Ben & Jerry’s story began over 45 years ago when the two school friends – with a mutual dislike for gym class and a $5 correspondence course in making ice cream from Penn State – opened their first Scoop Shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont.
A recipe for joy and justice
Ben and Jerry felt that it was no fun being business owners as the popular model was to take advantage of others to make a profit. Instead, they wanted to run their company in a unique way, striking a balance of joy and justice by making the most delicious ice cream while using the business to make the world a better place. In 1978, this was revolutionary and visionary.
Their recipe became a joyful concoction of values-sourced ingredients – including fresh Vermont milk, cream and generous portions of, well, whatever chunky, swirly ingredients took their fancy on any given day. Along with an equal amount of a justice-driven agenda stirred in to build awareness and support for the issues they felt strongly about.
Ben and Jerry survived their first year, making it through one of Vermont’s coldest winters on record. Out of this, as a ‘thank you’ to fans, the annual Free Cone Day event was born in 1979. Over the years, as prepackaged pints started to populate retailers’ shelves, more and more people discovered the delights of Ben & Jerry’s.
Going global
Fast forward to 1986, Ben and Jerry opened their first factory in Waterbury, Vermont. And by the end of the 1980s, they had over 80 Scoop Shops in 18 states across the US. In 1988, the best friends decided to set out their beliefs in writing, creating the three-part mission statement that the company still lives by today.
The following decade, Ben & Jerry’s went global, popping up in the UK by 1994, then Ireland in 2000, closely followed by the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. The company was acquired by Unilever in 2000, offering lovers of Ben & Jerry’s even more euphoric ice cream in 42 countries across the world.
Creative concoctions
Ben & Jerry’s has built a reputation over the years as a fun-loving company with a unique and creative approach to business. This is reflected in its iconic flavours such as Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie; values-led pints with a built-in mission like Colin Kaepernick’s Change the Whirled and Justice ReMix’d; as well as distinctive flavour names like Phish Food and Karamel Sutra that fans know and love.
Innovating indulgence
As true ice cream innovators, Ben & Jerry’s continues to expand its portfolio of flavours, including the Cores line featuring fan favourite ingredients in the centre like Chocolate Cookie Core; Topped, spoonable ice cream sundaes in a pint with euphoric chocolate toppings; and most recently, the creamiest version of Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy flavours with an indulgent oat base.
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The snacking category is growing, as consumers seek to have smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Responding to this trend, Magnum has launched its first bite-sized Bon Bons, joining Ben & Jerry’s and Yasso in leveraging micro-formats.
With a growing plant-based portfolio and consumers seeking ice cream experiences as indulgent as dairy, Ben & Jerry’s has reformulated its non-dairy portfolio to use a new, extra smooth oat base. We speak to flavour guru João Piva to find out more.
