Ben & Jerry’s co-founder, Ben Cohen, is calling on Australian consumers to boycott Magnum ice cream, escalating a campaign for parent company The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) to sell the brand to investors aligned with its social mission.
The appeal brings the dispute over Ben & Jerry’s independence and corporate governance to Australia, with Cohen alleging its owner has restricted the brand’s activism and breached protections established when Unilever acquired the business in 2000.
TMICC became Ben & Jerry’s parent following the demerger of Unilever’s ice cream business in December 2025. Magnum has previously maintained that Ben & Jerry’s is not for sale and that it remains committed to the brand’s social mission.
The Free Ben & Jerry’s campaign says more than 200,000 supporters have signed letters and petitions calling for the brand to return to independent ownership.
Cohen said the Australian campaign was aimed at consumers whose connection with Ben & Jerry’s extended beyond its products.
“Australia has long been a market where Ben & Jerry's has meant something beyond ice cream. Magnum is now using that goodwill to drive sales growth in the ANZ region while stripping the brand of everything that created that goodwill in the first place. Australian consumers have a voice. We are asking them to use it.”
Founded in Vermont in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s built its business around product quality, financial performance and social activism. Its acquisition by Unilever included an agreement establishing an independent board to protect its social mission and brand integrity.
Cohen’s campaign alleges Unilever and subsequently Magnum have undermined that arrangement by blocking statements on Palestinian rights and criticism of US president Donald Trump, removing directors and restricting the board’s authority. These allegations form part of a wider dispute over the parent company’s contractual obligations.
Ben & Jerry’s and its independent board have been pursuing litigation in New York over alleged interference with the brand’s social mission. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation secured permission to join that litigation in March.
The foundation, which funds grassroots organisations working on social, economic and environmental justice, has said it will suspend operations on 31 December unless it obtains a favourable court ruling over the loss of its funding.
Magnum has disputed the foundation’s account. In a response reported by ESM Magazine in July, the company attributed the planned suspension to trustees’ failure to address an independent audit’s findings and implement governance changes.
The Australian boycott appeal comes as TMICC expands sales across the region. Its Europe and ANZ segment recorded organic sales growth of 4.1 per cent in the first half of 2026. Group revenue reached €4.7 billion, with organic sales growth of 4.7 per cent. Those regional figures include its broader ice cream portfolio and are not specific to Ben & Jerry’s.
Cohen is seeking a sale to socially aligned investors, arguing that protecting the brand’s independence and activism is central to preserving the consumer loyalty underpinning its commercial value.
