Ben & Jerry

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield established their iconic ice cream company in 1978, opening their first shop in a converted gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Their entrepreneurial journey began after a $5 correspondence course from Pennsylvania State University, leveraging an initial combined investment of $12,000. By 1979, the business focused solely on ice cream, with Cohen developing intense, chunk-filled flavors. Expanding rapidly, they held their first Free Cone Day in 1979, and by 1980, began distributing pint-sized containers to grocery stores.

Most recently, the company initiated the ‘Mootopia’ pilot project in 2022 to reduce farm emissions. Following Unilever’s 2024 announcement to spin off its ice cream business, the divestment was completed in 2025 with the creation of The Magnum Ice Cream Company. In 2025, Ben Cohen announced Jerry Greenfield’s resignation from the company.