Commenting on Mr Greenfield’s announcement, Anna Macdonald, investment partner at Aubrey Investments, said Ben and Jerry’s had “built a brand all about irreverence and activism and advocacy” and that Unilever had agreed to “continue these missions” when it bought the business in 2000.
But in recent years, she said, Unilever may have attempted to rein in the company’s activism, particularly with regard to Israel and Gaza.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Earlier this year, the company accused Unilever of demanding that it stops publicly criticising US President Donald Trump.
Ms Macdonald said Mr Greenfield “has moved on because he doesn’t want to be associated with what’s happening now”.