Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen recently discussed that Unilever has “usurped their authority” by violating the terms set by Ben & Jerry’s independent board by selling its Israeli operations to a Israel-occupied West Bank-based licensee would market its products in the alternative market, Food Dive reported.
According to Cohen, the company “can’t allow that to happen, we can’t sit idly by.”
Ben & Jerry’s, an independent board, tasked with resolving social responsibility matters, was formed through a merger agreement with Unilever. The ice cream brand previously confirmed plans to amend the lawsuit about divestment against Unilever in a Manhattan federal court by the end of September, court records reveal. The Vermont-based brand typically advocates against modern slavery and in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The deal between Ben & Jerrys and the CPG giant is “is likely to be put to the test if the Vermont-based company amends its lawsuit,” a recent report warns.
“Based on Unilever’s purchase agreement with Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever decides who should be the ice cream brand’s CEO,” a recent food dive report states. “But that CEO must defer to Ben & Jerry’s independent board about the ‘social responsibility aspects of the company,’ Tulane University Law School professor Ann Lipton told the New York Times. Unilever also can only appoint two of the 11 seats on the brand’s board, the outlet noted. Shareholders of publicly traded companies usually vote to decide board members.”
Co-founder Jerry Greenfield confirmed the social responsibility to be the foundation of the purchasing agreement, assuring that the 2000 deal filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission formed part of the acquisition, and requires “the Surviving Corporation Board to have primary responsibility for preserving and enhancing the objectives of the historical social mission of the Company as they may evolve from time to time consistent therewith,” the report continues.
“In order for us to sell the company, it was essential that we had this agreement in place, and without that agreement, the sale never would have occurred,” Greenfield said on MSNBC.
Ben & Jerrys attempted to stop Unilever from selling its business in July through a federal New York court, claiming that the Western dealing would “cause irreparable harm,” to its social objectives. The request was then denied by U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter. While still retaining the right to make its own operational determinations, Unilever hasn’t not responded to comment on the allegations.