How Ben & Jerry’s Activism Helps Scoop Up Customers | WSJ The Economics Of

(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 in 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 idea 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 Unilever 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 Green 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 should 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 Campaign.

- [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.