Ben & Jerry's - The Men Behind the Ice Cream
By Scott Allen, about.com
Ice cream is a sweet treat that few can resist. Although vanilla is the most popular flavor in the U.S., there
are a seemingly endless number of varieties and manufacturers. One of the best-known purveyors is Ben &
Jerry’s, the brand synonymous with funky flavors like Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey and a groovy
Vermont vibe.
Background: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were childhood friends born four days apart in Brooklyn,
New York, in 1951. You could say that ice cream runs in their veins. During his senior year of high school,
Ben drove an ice cream truck. After high school, he attended and dropped out of various colleges in the
Northeast, eventually leaving his studies altogether to teach pottery on a working farm in New York's
Adirondack region, where he also dabbled in ice cream-making.
Jerry started on a more traditional path. After graduating high school, he attended Oberlin College to study
medicine. Jerry worked as an ice cream scooper in the school’s cafeteria. Upon graduating, Jerry returned to
New York to work as a lab technician, while applying to medical school without success. During his lab
tech days, he shared a Manhattan apartment with Ben. After moving to North Carolina for a few years, Jerry
reunited with Ben in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and they decided to go into the food business together. At first
the pair thought about making bagels but decided the necessary equipment was too expensive. Instead, they
settled on ice cream. They decided Burlington, Vt., was an ideal location for a scoop shop because it was a
college town without an ice cream parlor. They took a $5 course on ice-cream making and in 1978 opened
the first Ben & Jerry’s in a converted Burlington gas station.
Growth: The original scoop shop became a community favorite thanks to its rich ice cream and creative
flavors. Ben and Jerry also made it a point to connect with the community, hosting a free film festival and
giving away free scoops on the first anniversary of the store, a tradition that still continues. In 1980, the duo
began making pints to sell to local grocers. In 1981, they expanded this operation. Business increased
significantly. In 1983, the company opened its first non-Vermont franchise in Maine, and signed a deal with
a Boston distribution company. Signature flavors were unveiled during the 1980s – including New York
Super Fudge Chunk and Cherry Garcia – and by 1987 sales were at $32 million. In 1988, President Ronald
Reagan named Ben and Jerry the U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year, and by the year’s end the
company was operating shops in 18 states.
Creative Flavors: One reason for the quick popularity of Ben & Jerry’s was its unique flavor combinations.
All new flavors were invented by Jerry, usually without any test marketing. Some 1980s flagship flavors
include Chunky Monkey, Rainforest Crunch and Economic Crunch, scoops of which Ben & Jerry’s served
up for free on Wall Street following the stock market crash of Oct. 19, 1987.
Growing Pains: The company’s path hasn’t always been as smooth as its ice cream blends. Ben & Jerry’s
faced off with Häagen-Dazs over distribution rights, leading to lawsuits against Häagen-Dazs’ parent, the
Pillsbury Company, in the mid-1980s. As the company’s rapid growth continued, it became obvious to the
founders that they would need someone with more business acumen to keep the business running. After
allowing customers to apply for the job in the “Yo! I’m Your CEO” contest, the company in 1995 selected
Robert Holland, a veteran of McKinsey & Co. Ironically, Holland was found by a search firm, not through
the contest.
Holland’s hiring brought the company to a crossroads. Ben and Jerry had become the brand’s icons. There
was concern that the company would lose its informal hierarchy and unique culture under Holland’s
leadership. Ben & Jerry’s had always had a strict pay scale ratio for its management, which it had to break
when hiring Holland.
Furthermore, Ben & Jerry’s was going through a trying time in the marketplace. Although the company had
made its name with wacky flavors and chunky mix-ins, the most popular ice cream flavor in America was –
and remains – plain vanilla. The firm had released a line of “Smooth, No Chunks!” flavors to capture that
segment of the market that preferred less funky flavors.
While the super-premium ice cream market was growing, so was the competition. Häagen-Dazs and
Dreyer’s were major players. Ben & Jerry’s had outsourced some its production to Dreyer’s in order to
reach customers in the western U.S. Now that Dreyer’s was becoming more of a competitor, Ben & Jerry’s
had to worry about its dependence on a competitor for manufacturing and distribution.
Holland stepped down in 1996. The following year, Perry Odak became the new CEO, and sales that year
were about $174 million. In late 1999, the firm announced it had received notice of interest from other large
firms, and in 2000 international food giant Unilever purchased the Ben & Jerry’s brand for $326 million,
although the deal called for Ben & Jerry’s to be operated separately from Unilever’s other ice cream brands.
Social Mission: This unique arrangement allowed Ben & Jerry’s to continue to run its business in a socially
conscious manner, which had been a trademark of the brand since its inception. Some examples of this
mission include:
An original scoop shop made of recycled materials
Creation of a “Green Team” in 1989, focusing on environmental education throughout the company
A company bus equipped with solar panels
The use of hormone-free milk in its products
A commitment to reducing solid and dairy waste, recycling, and water and energy conservation at the
company’s facilities
An Interview With Ben & Jerry (excerpt from Entrepreneur magazine)
Entrepreneur: How do you define "entrepreneur"?
Ben Cohen: [Someone who] has a tremendous amount of drive and is willing to sacrifice most anything to bring this
business
Entrepreneur: Who is your idea of an entrepreneur?
Jerry Greenfield: It's Ben. He's the one who keeps looking under rocks. He doesn't really need to look under rocks-he
sees ideas on top of rocks.
Ben: Paul Newman. He knew what assets he had-his name, his face, his reputation. [And he created] a business to raise
money for charities.
Entrepreneur: How do you keep your entrepreneurial spirit alive?
Jerry: Getting the right people in the company is the most critical thing. If you don't have people who believe in [your]
mission, you run into problems.
Entrepreneur: What was your dream when you started out?
Jerry: Ice cream for the people. We realized early on that the only way to stay in business was if the community was
supporting us.
Entrepreneur: What's your legacy?
Jerry: I hope the message from the company was that you could have a business that was not in existence solely to
make money; it had a purpose and mission that was larger than that. And that [entrepreneurs] who want to have
businesses that address social needs can do that in a way that also makes money.
Ben: What he said. And on top of that, to have a role that is restorative, to help make things better, not just not do bad.
On a very small scale, Ben & Jerry's demonstrated that.
Questions: Answer the following questions on loose-leaf paper.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why did Ben & Jerry go into the Ice Cream business?
Why did they locate their first store in Burlington, Vermont?
Why did they do to popularize their business in Burlington?
What troubles did the company have as it grew?
How did the company do business in a socially conscious manner?
Why do YOU think Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company became so successful?