Plus: Sincerely Yours launch shows power of building relationships; Fiverr CEO cuts jobs with ‘fewer people, more productivity’ message.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has resigned after 47 years, saying the brand’s activist voice has been “silenced” under Unilever.
The move comes just before Unilever spins off its ice cream division into the newly formed Magnum Ice Cream Company.
Greenfield and fellow co-founder Ben Cohen had lobbied for Ben & Jerry’s to operate independently of the spinoff, but Unilever rejected the proposal.
The split underscores long-running friction between the socially outspoken brand and its corporate parent, dating back to 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s halted sales in Israeli-occupied territories, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In posts on Instagram and X, Cohen shared Greenfield’s statement, which said, in part:
“It is with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made.
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.
“It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose. Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.
“From the very beginning, Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.”
Unilever responded to the announcement, saying, “We disagree with his perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world.”
Why it matters: Ben & Jerry’s activism has always been more than marketing, instead, it’s central to its reputation.
Weakening that stance risks both credibility and trust. Activist brands must stand behind their core values, the principles its stakeholders have come to know and rely on, even during times of crisis.
Greenfield’s exit is a message in itself, highlighting the delicate balance between brand identity and corporate control. For him, remaining with the company under Unilever shows a larger betrayal of Ben & Jerry’s customers and values than walking away.
While Greenfield’s statement emphasized his unwillingness to compromise the company’s longstanding values of integrity, Unilever emphasized continuity.
Both responses demonstrate how tone and positioning can influence stakeholder trust.
When mission and ownership collide, how leaders frame their stance — and whether they show vulnerability, conviction or defensiveness — can define a brand’s public narrative.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- The launch of Sincerely Yours, a new teen skincare brand co-founded by YouTube creator Salish Matter, along with her dad, Jordan Matter, drew overwhelming crowds to its pop-up at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. Around 80,000 fans showed up, some camping overnight, and Sephora sold out of Sincerely Yours products within the first hour, leaving a waitlist of more than 60,000. The buzz was amplified by surprise creator appearances, free samples and the excitement of in-person access, giving the brand organic visibility across social platforms and earned media coverage. Jordan Salish told Forbes, “This was my first brand launch, so I can’t compare playbooks, but I can tell you why it felt so big. It wasn’t a one-day promo; it was five years of showing up every week with Salish, letting people into our lives, and earning a real relationship. We’ve tried to make content that respects our audience — their priorities, their time, their sense of humor — and to be consistent about it.” Consumers love surprises. They also love authentic connections. The launch worked because it provided both, making the audience part of the brand’s story. The Matters’ debuted the beauty line with an audience whose trust they had already established, and as the event showed, that can be powerful.
- Fiverr CEO and founder Micha Kaufman recently announced the company would cut 250 jobs in order to get back to “start-up mode” with an AI-first mindset. In a post on LinkedIn, Kaufman shared the memo he sent to employees, saying, “Today, we are launching such a transformation for Fiverr, to turn Fiverr into an AI-first company that’s leaner, faster, with a modern AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller team, each with substantially greater productivity, and far fewer management layers. This transformation requires a painful reset, and as we make it, we will be parting ways with approximately 250 team members across the different departments, resulting in a smaller and flatter organization.” He added that while the decision was painful, it was necessary for their mission of “fewer people, more productivity.” Even though Kaufman frames this as transformation, people will see “cut jobs” and question whether this is more about cutting costs than reinvention. Some may interpret “AI-first” and “leaner teams” as euphemisms for layoffs. If the execution, including how the cuts are handled, isn’t sensitive, it could seem cold or callous. For employees remaining, it can create anxiety (are more layoffs coming?), burnout due to increased expectations with fewer people, and questions about job security. If leadership fails to live up to its promises, there’s a risk of demotivation.
- Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said this week during a conference that he isn’t too worried that a cash-strapped middle class will hurt Starbucks’s sales. When asked if he’s concerned middle-class customers may pull back on spending due to economic downturn, he replied, “I would love for Starbucks to become the greatest customer service company. When you look at putting (customer service and high-quality products) together for the price that we will have to charge for it, I think it will turn out to be invaluable.” While it’s true that people value quality, and some may even spend more for it, for those who are really feeling financial strain, emphasizing premium prices might come across as insensitive. Niccol must be careful that his comments don’t seem like the company is out of touch with what many are going through, or he risks alienating customers and Starbucks’s core stakeholders.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
The post The Scoop: Ben & Jerry’s co-founder departs, highlights tension between activism and corporate ownership appeared first on PR Daily.
