Unilever sells its Ben & Jerry’s Israel operation
June 29, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti UPDATE July 6: Ben & Jerry’s has taken its disagreement with its parent corporation to federal court, filing suit to stop Unilever from selling its products in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank through a third party. Read more from the Associated Press at TimesArgus.com.
Multinational consumer products corporation Unilever has sold its Ben & Jerry’s business interests in Israel to its current licensee and the Vermont-based company’s products will continue to be sold under their Hebrew and Arabic names.
In an announcement Tuesday, Unilever said the sale was to Avi Zinger, the owner of American Quality Products Ltd., the current Israel-based licensee that sells Ben & Jerry’s products. Sales will continue throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of Avi Zinger, according to the Unilever announcement.
The company did not disclose the sale price of the transaction.
Under the terms of Unilever’s acquisition of Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, Ben & Jerry’s and its independent board were granted rights to make decisions about the company’s social mission which has for decades promoted progressive causes such as social, racial and environmental justice. Unilever in acquiring Ben & Jerry’s reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions. It says that distinction gives it “the right to enter this arrangement.”
Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors in July 2021 said it would end ice cream sales in the territory occupied by Israel. The move drew attention to the global campaign supporting Palestinians’ desire for that territory to become a Palestinian state. The movement known as “BDS” – short for boycott, divest and sanction – supports the idea of consumers and investors avoiding supporting companies that do business in the Israeli-occupied territories.
The Israeli government saw sales in the West Bank as part of Unilever’s operation in the entire country and it lobbied for the sales to continue. In the U.S., the ice cream company board’s decision led to several states moving to divest of shares of Unilever.
A digitally enhanced photo of the flyover above the Ben and Jerry’s Waterbury factory in July 2021 shows the message banner enlarged. Israeli-American Council photo.
The ice cream maker found itself in the center of controversy following the move with Jewish founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield pushing back on accusations that the decision amounted to antisemitism. In Waterbury last July, a small single-engine airplane flew over the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream manufacturing plant and visitors center flying a banner with the message “Serve Ice Cream Not Hate! #BDS is Hate” at the behest of the Israeli-American Council which condemned the company for its politically motivated business decision.
But in making the call to stop sales in the Israeli-occupied areas, the Ben & Jerry’s board said doing business there was “inconsistent with our values” and it went against “concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.”
Ben & Jerry’s still abides by that position. On Wednesday, company spokesman Sean Greenwood said Ben & Jerry’s was not happy with the Unilever action. “We are aware of the Unilever announcement. While our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it,” he said.
“Unilever's arrangement means Ben & Jerry's in Israel will be owned and operated by AQP. Our company will no longer profit from Ben & Jerry's in Israel. We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry's values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The sale to Avi Zinger follows a Unilever review of Ben & Jerry’s in Israel over the past year. “Unilever has used the opportunity of the past year to listen to perspectives on this complex and sensitive matter and believes this is the best outcome for Ben & Jerry’s in Israel,” the company said in its announcement, adding that the steps included conferring with the Israeli government.
The activist group Vermonters for Justice in Palestine on Wednesday issued a press release critical of both Unilever’s action and Ben & Jerry’s. The group in 2021 said Ben & Jerry’s position to end sales in occupied territory didn’t go far enough.
Now it characterizes the sale of the Ben & Jerry’s operation in Israel by Unilever as the parent corporation “pulling rank” on its ice cream subsidiary with a solution that in effect continues the ice cream sales in all of Israel. Its headline sums up the move as: “Ben & Jerry’s forced by Unilever to back out of commitments to withdraw from business in Israel and Palestine.”
More details, group spokesman Ian Stokes noted, are needed to understand how the operation will still be connected with Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s. “It is unclear at this stage exactly what the Israeli company will have access to in terms of branding, recipes, etc., and whether Ben & Jerry’s and/or Unilever will derive any share of the profits,” the group’s statement says.
Ben & Jerry's Waterbury ice cream factory is a key employer and tourist attraction in the region. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Unilever’s announcement stressed its opposition to intolerance: “Unilever rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance. Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position.”
The Vermonters for Justice in Palestine group took issue with that statement. “[Vermonters for Justice in Palestine] is disgusted that the antisemitism trope has been raised by Unilever, implying that criticizing Israel and holding that country to account implies that Israel represents all Jewish people. This is an insult to many people who are Jewish,” it said. “VTJP urges people worldwide to continue to boycott Ben & Jerry’s and to express their disgust at this reversal of an ethical decision by Unilever.”
Unilever said it “is very proud of our business in Israel which supplies everyday household products to people across the country.” The company’s operations in Israel employ around 2,000 people, run four local manufacturing plants, and rely on a network of approximately 2,000 local suppliers and service providers. Over the past decade, Unilever has invested approximately $260 million in its Israel business, according to the Unilever announcement.
“We look forward to continuing to make a positive contribution to Israel’s economy and society for many decades to come, and hope that Israelis and Palestinians can reach a peaceful resolution of their conflict,” the company said.
Founded in Vermont in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s corporate headquarters is in South Burlington and it operates two Vermont manufacturing facilities, one in St. Albans and its plant and visitors center in Waterbury.