Ben & Jerry’s hasn’t shied away from taking a stand on social causes.
WSJ’s Annie Gasparro explains how that’s helped the brand remain a leader in the U.S. ice cream market, despite some backlash against its political stances.
Illustration: Adele Morgan
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(pensive music)
(spoon sliding) - [Narrator] Phish Food, Chunky Monkey, these quirky flavors are
unmistakably Ben & Jerry's. But what really sets the brand apart is its activism despite being owned by one of the largest food
companies in the world. - It's been really fascinating to see that Ben & Jerry's has
really held their ground. - [Narrator] Companies that take a stance on social and political issues are becoming more important to consumers. According to research by
the polling firm Ipsos,
60% of consumers said
they would be more likely to consider a brand that's aligned with their own views. So how does the company blend activism into its business model? This is The Economics of Ben & Jerry's. - Ben & Jerry's really takes
a fairly liberal stance on a lot of political issues. And Ben & Jerry's has not shied away from making those positions very public. - [Narrator] The company's social mission is rooted in the values
of its two founders, and their life experience
having grown up i
n the 1960s. - What's going on is genocide. - [Narrator] Ben Cohen and
Jerry Greenfield founded the company in Burlington,
Vermont in 1978. Two years later, they were
selling pints to grocery stores. And in the late '80s, they
began using their ice cream to support social causes. - They've spoken out about
how they were advised by counterparts in the industry that speaking out and taking
these activist positions would hurt their bottom line. This was just not something that businesses were doing
. - [Narrator] But Ben
& Jerry's pushed ahead and by 1999, it reported
$237 million in sales. Today, the company says
the overwhelming majority of its sales comes from
selling packaged ice cream in supermarkets and convenience stores. - What the company has
shown over the years is that if your product is delicious, is attractive in other ways to consumers, you can do these things and still be a successful business. - Hi.
- Thanks so much. - [Narrator] Ben & Jerry's
centered its business on an id
ea it calls linked prosperity, which means that has the company profits, its communities should too. So when Ben & Jerry's needed investors to build its first
manufacturing facility in 1984, it offered stock exclusively
to Vermont residents first as a way to give back to the community where it got its start. A year later, the Ben &
Jerry's Foundation was born. It received 7.5% of the
company's annual pre-tax profits to fund community-oriented projects. In 2000, multinational
food conglomerate Un
ilever bought Ben & Jerry's for $326 million but the ice cream maker negotiated a deal where it could maintain its own independent board of directors. - While Unilever has made statements over the years saying that these are not the
issues of the whole company, they have not been able
to stop Ben & Jerry's from making statements on social media that get a lot of attention because of how controversial they are. - [Narrator] After the killing
of George Floyd in 2020, many companies started
posting
on Instagram to show their support for the
Black Lives Matter movement. While Ben & Jerry's
released this statement, saying "We must dismantle
white supremacy." - They were so much more
direct than other companies and that's where Ben & Jerry's has continued to be different. Because they've been
doing this for decades, they have that credibility. - We need to have people
sitting in at their Congress, people's offices, at
their senators' offices and telling 'em we ain't leaving 'til you pass a G
reen New Deal. (people cheering) - [Narrator] But these bold statements haven't been without backlash. For example, in 2021,
Ben & Jerry's announced that it would stop selling its products in Jewish settlements in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem. This decision was criticized
by Jewish communities around the world. - And I will give up on my Ben & Jerry and everything that Unilever produces. - [Narrator] And by Israeli politicians. Two months later, several state funds
sold or threatened to sell their
investments in Unilever accusing the company
of breaking state laws that prohibit the boycott of Israel. Unilever didn't respond
to requests for comment. At the time, the company declined
to discuss the divestments but reiterated its commitment to Israel. In February, Ben & Jerry's posted this tweet criticizing
President Biden's decision to send US troops to Ukraine. - Unilever CEO said Ben & Jerry's needs to stay in their lane basically and said that they shoul
d
not speak out about things that they're not experts in. - [Narrator] A spokesman
from Ben & Jerry's said, "We don't believe one must
be a foreign policy expert to promote the ideals of peace and to oppose armed conflict as a solution to solve problems." (spoon banging) In addition to its public statements, the company's social justice initiatives are also baked into every
aspect of it business model, how the ice cream is made, how it's packaged and how
it's served to consumers. - There you are
. No problem. - Thank you, thank you very much. - [Narrator] For example,
the brownies that are used in flavors like Half Baked come from a bakery in New York that hires people who face
barriers to employment. Ben & Jerry's also uses milk and cream from family-owned dairy farms, and all of its flavors
are fair trade certified which guarantees that
farmers who grow vanilla, cocoa and coffee beans get a fair price for their harvest. - There's a flavor that's
gonna be supporting the Poor People's C
ampaign. - [Narrator] For special edition flavors, Ben & Jerry's often works
with nonprofit organizations. - And a portion of the proceeds will be donated to be
supporting the campaign. - So it's a real influence, not just with consumers but also by using their profits to give back to these organizations. - Can I please have a Mint Chocolate. - [Narrator] Ben & Jerry's also has about 215 independently owned
scoop shops across the US. As corporate activism
becomes more important to consumers, we
might see more
companies voice their social and political stances online. So does this mean it's the end
of an era for Ben & Jerry's? A spokesman from the company says, "Ben & Jerry's acts on
values it cares about but trying to go at it solo
was never the intention." (lively music)
Comments
While I appreciate some advocacy from Ben and Jerry's. As a frequent consumer of their products. I've never bought based off of political views or something they said. It's very simple: Ben and Jerry's has amazing flavors and combinations. That's what makes me like them. The fact they do some good things in the community is a side benefit of liking them in my opinion. No offense but what good is a company that makes terrible ice cream but is really politically active? That won't last long.
So when corporations are expressing their political views publicly, it's considered a problem. At least you know where they stand. Then corporations express their view behind closed doors as they do now with their lobbying.
The economics of Ben & Jerry's -> video proceeds not talking about their economics but about their social presence and campaigns I'm a bit confused
I have never eaten Ben and Jerry's but perhaps I will give it a try.
I stopped eating Ben and Jerry's because the pints I had purchased over the past few years had warmed up, then been refrozen somewhere along the supply chain. This leads to an unpleasant eating experience.
Need more videos in this playlist!
My brother loves Ben & Jerry's. It's America's favourite ice cream brand whose headquarters is based in New England.
Brilliant
what is their best flavor so far ?
Nice video.
Great video
Wow I had no idea Ben & Jerry's locations were locally owned! so cool ☺
This content is just narrowly looking at any political view. I like Ben & Jerry's is because of its natural milky taste, or where the price is actually too expensive for me, not thinking of any political view.
I didn’t know any of this.
I ask myself how they‘ll react to the fact that their headquarters in Vermont is on land that was taken from native. Americans. This was recently exposed. Do as you preach
Lol this will age badly.
Cherry Garcia 4 LIFE
I don't care about their political views, all i want is a pint of their New Jork Super Fudge Crunch ice cream. 😋
Shelf space is everything Just like golden time commercials
Interesting you decide to frame the boycott of the apartheid israeli regime as "controversial." Was it controversial when it was done to apartheid South Africa in the 80's?