Ben and Jerry's are getting scoops of their just desserts

I have a question for Ben (Cohen) and Jerry (Greenfield), the men who came up with “ice-cream with a conscience”: cool idea, guys – so why did you ever sell up in the first place? If campaigning for social justice was a main aim of your business, why offload it?

- JAMES MOORE

The founders of Ben & Jerry’s have written a furious open letter to investors and the board of the Magnum Ice Cream Company, which is in the process of being demerged from Unilever, the London-listed consumer products giant that bought the brand 25 years ago. The newly independent company will have its shares listed in Amsterdam as the parent reshapes its portfolio. That’s where Ben & Jerry’s - which was founded by a couple of hippies in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, and sold in 2000 for more than $300m (£221m) - will reside in future.

“We are deeply concerned that the commitments made to us, our employees, and our customers are being eroded. For several years now, the voice of Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced by Unilever, particularly when the brand has tried to speak out about social justice and unjust wars,” says the zinger addressed to Magnum’s board.

“That is not the Ben & Jerry’s that we founded, or the one that we envisioned when we agreed to join Unilever 25 years ago. We no longer believe that Ben & Jerry’s belongs under the umbrella of a corporate entity that fails to support its founding mission, and which is reducing the company’s value by undercutting one of the critical reasons why customers love and support the brand.”

Cohen has suggested that the pair would give back the money they received in the sale if it meant the brand could again be independent.