How Culture Trumps Size

“Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. — from “Scarlet Begonias”” by The Grateful Dead

Learning by Acquisition: How Culture Trumps Size

By Glenn Rifkin

Each armed with a pint of their popular Vermont-based ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s co-founders Ben Cohen, left, and Jerry Greenfield, right, feed Unilever U.S. CEO Richard Goldstein Monday, May 1, 2000, in Unilever’s New York offices.The Korn/Ferry Institute Briefings on Talent & Leadership Q3.2012 49 In April 2000, when Unilever, the then-$45 billion Dutch-English consumer products giant, announced its acquisition of Ben & Jerry’s, the socially conscious, touchy- feely, Vermont-based ice cream maker, the general response was predictable.

“Ben & Jerry’s Sells Out” was a typical business section headline in the morning papers and on the Internet. “Everyone, it turns out, has a price,” lamented Wired magazine, while pointing out that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the “hip- pies” who founded the popular brand in 1978, really didn’t want to make the deal. As the new millennium approached, giant corporate vultures were hover- ing above the publicly traded, under-performing Vermont institution with hungry eyes and a takeover seemed inevitable. Inside there was turmoil as some wanted to sell and others did not. Cohen and Greenfield tried to orches- trate their own buyout but could not generate an offer high enough to prevent Unilever from prevailing. Cohen released a statement trying to put a positive spin on the deal. “While I would have preferred for Ben & Jerry’s to remain independent, I’m excited about the next chapter,” he said and then quoted the above Grateful Dead lyrics. The consensus seemed to be that the deal would signal the end of Ben & Jerry’s well-established and respected triple bottom line: “Make Great Prod- ucts, Deliver Solid Profitability, and Work Towards Progressive Social Change.” This was a company that donated 7.5 percent of its profits to charity, paid living wages and offered better benefits, supported local farmers and growers in Third World countries who produced some of its ingredients, and believed that its progressive social mission was as important as its profits. Surely a conglomerate as big as Unilever had other ideas and it would un- doubtedly swallow the brand, remake the culture and transform Ben & Jerry’s into a profit-driven marketing engine that would eventually become unrecog- nizable to its legions of fans. Protesters in front But a funny thing happened on the way to the inevitable makeover. A of Ben and Jerry’s dozen years after Unilever plunked down $326 million for the Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington, Vt., brand, the progressive, activist, socially responsible culture that was Ben & in 1999 voiced Jerry’s is alive, well and spreading its version of caring capitalism all over the their opposition to world. And rather than crush the spirit out Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever, a $58 bil- Unilever’s planned lion global powerhouse with more than 400 brands and 165,000 employees, acquisition of the has remade its own corporate mission to reflect the socially conscious ideas ice cream company. that Ben & Jerry’s was built upon. The very profitable tail, in this case, is wag- ging the extremely satisfied dog. The Price for Sustainability

In a departure from what happens in most acquisitions, Ben & Jerry’s was able to negotiate an agreement with Unilever that included the retention of the

The Korn/Ferry Institute smaller company’s board of directors. The board’s mandate was to preserve and protect Ben & Jerry’s triple bottom line while Unilever tended to the business end of things. Granting such independence in perpetuity to an acquired company is not simply unusual, it is nearly unheard of. Even with that, the acquisition was hardly smooth, and the first eight or nine years were fraught with the usual trauma — customer dismay, layoffs, culture clashes— that wreaks havoc on most such acquisitions. Despite the pain, and with Jostein Solheim, a Unilever veteran and now Ben & Jerry’s third CEO in 10 years firmly in place, the two organizations survived most of the distress of these often-daunting couplings. Both have benefitted from the marriage. “It definitely took time for the two companies to get used to each other,” said Kevin Havelock, president of Unilever’s Refreshment division, “For Ben & Jerry’s, a small company making great ice cream in Vermont, to suddenly be

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Briefings on Talent & Leadership Q3.2012 51 but anorganizational brandauthentic.” way ofmakingthe “You arenotonly buyingabrand, — Tom’s MainebyColgate-Palmolive,ZapposAm- of you risklosingandultimatelyunderminingthe multiplied isthatsuccess results, ForUnilever, itwasuncomfortableatfirst. more gut-feeltothewayitapproachedthingsand azon, The BodyShopbyL’Oreal,azon, The cerealmakerKashi Groupe DanoneinFrance,HonestTea byCoca-Cola, with verystrongpositionsonvalues, itwasn’t always ing notonlyasociallyresponsibleproductbutone acquiring anorganizationthatwasmoreintuitive, way of making the brand authentic. You aredeliver- makingthebrandauthentic. way of by Kellogg,Iams petfoodbyProcter&Gamble,Cas- are notonlybuyingabrand,butanorganizational products andnewinnovations. Butit’s beenareal presenting themselvesascaring capitalists,” Mirvis brand.” theintegration, pieces andmanagethataspartof tions have been completed with varying degrees of tions havebeencompletedwithvaryingdegreesof to valuecompanieswithsustainable,green,organic, two-way learning.” to a halo of socialresponsibility,to ahaloof thesedealswillin- youdon’tthat isreallygood.If understandthose then itisjustaphonyadvertising campaign.” held togetherbecausethesocialmissionprovideda hanced financialresultsandmarketplaceperception global marketplace,overthepastdecade,hascome glue, andtherewasgoodsuccessrollingoutnew cadian FarmsbyGeneralMillsandmoreeachyear. easy. Itwasanup-and-downrelationship, butithas success. Amongthoseacquired:StonyfieldFarmby socially proactivebonafides, acquisi- alonglistof sponsible playeracquiredbyagiantcompany. Asthe evitably be troubled. “There are plenty of companies areplentyof evitably betroubled.“There source theproductandhowthey reallydobusiness, itisnotrootedinhowthey makeand said. “Butif isgenerallybasedonhowclearlyandthoughtfully And whathasbecomeclearasthesedealshave In fact, BenandJerry’sisnottheonlysociallyre- In fact, If acorporategiantissimplyseekingshortcut If

Mirvis, seniorfellowattheSocial Innovation LabatBabsonCollege Though thisisthecaseinanysuc- Though you are buying,” said Philip H. you arebuying,”saidPhilip realm of caringcapitalism. realm of is particularlypertinentinthe and anexpertonmergersac- the acquiringcompanyhascon- quisitions intheCSR(corporate cessful mergeroracquisition,it sidered whyitismakingthedeal. social responsibility) space. “You social responsibility)space.“You “You havetounderstandwhat “You — asmeasuredinen- Institute, the LOHAS (Lifestyles of HealthandSus- Institute, theLOHAS(Lifestylesof making buyingdecisionsrelatedtosociallycon- manager of VenturingandEmerging Brands(VEB) manager of ate fromconsumerswhoaremoreandoften access tonewgeographicalmarkets, extensions and astheglobaleconomycontinuestostirback an amalgamation of science,artand serendipity,”an amalgamationof at Coca-Cola.“Itstartswitharesearch-based under- past decadehaveconfirmedthatabrand’ssocial butes canleadtopowerfulbrandloyaltyandin- aligned,thoseattri- purchasing decisionsandthatif that make these kinds of CSRacquisitionsareclearly that makethesekindsof to product lines, newtechnologies, scalability, en- tainability) marketwasnearly$300billionin2008, hanced revenuestreams, addedgirth.Companies looking fortheprofitablebumptheyhopetogener- life, thatnumbercanonlygrow. creased sales. AccordingtotheNatural Marketing content makesasignificantdifferenceinconsumers’ scious considerations. Numeroussurveysoverthe said DeryckVanRensburg,president andgeneral standing of whattheconsumerislooking for,standing of aswell “Identifying trends and brands of thefutureis “Identifying trendsandbrandsof Acquisitions happen for lots of reasons:quick Acquisitions happenforlotsof The Korn/Ferry Ins titute

© Dan Hallman/Corbis Outline prefer to remain independent and step to the beat of their own drummer. Socially responsible entrepreneurs build companies with passionate employees and a serious commitment to the triple-bottom line philosophy, and the best performers generally reflect the most committed of entrepreneurial teams. Selling the company is generally a last option in the quest for growth, scalability, broader distribution and the cash to keep building the dream. “These are not people just looking for money,” said Gary Hirshberg, founder and chairman of Stony- field Farm, who sold an 85 percent stake in the organic yogurt company in 2001 to giant Groupe Danone in France. “These are entrepreneurs looking to make a difference, and an acquirer has to show respect and that it understands that.” An acquiring company that deliberately or inad- vertently trifles with such passion is likely to find itself in a quagmire. “Culture is a tricky thing,” said Michael Distefano, chief marketing officer at Korn/Ferry and a veteran of several acquisition experiences. “It is like finger- prints; no two are alike in any two organizations. The acquirer has to ask a series of questions about what prompts a merger. Are you buying a brand, revenue, a market, a niche product or the people? As with any other asset, how important is it to retain the acquired company’s culture?” Barry Nalebuff and Seth Goldman, founders of Honest Tea. Making It Work

For Seth Goldman, the co-founder and CEO of Hon- as a point of view about where consumers are likely est Tea, a Bethesda, Md.-based beverage maker, pre- to be in the future. We recognize through these serving his company’s culture is critical. And selling trends that many of our consumers’ identities are no the company to Coca-Cola in 2011 triggered a series longer defined by gender, age or geography, but by of new challenges. lifestyles and values. Consumers are demanding that When Coke’s Venturing and Emerging Brands brands go beyond benefits. They want to know how it group first approached Goldman in 2007 about mak- will impact their life, community and environment.” ing an investment in Honest Tea, Goldman had to For many corporate giants, the lure of a fast- consider the fallout for his fast-growing and popular growing, widely admired smaller entity is too good brand. How would loyal consumers react to an to pass up. “There are good businesses with strong organic, Fair Trade, environmentally friendly brand market niches and in some cases, a huge number of getting into bed with the world’s largest purveyor brand fans,” Mirvis said, “So it’s logical for compa- of fizzy water? Honest Tea had ambitious plans— nies to use these to expand their product lines and to become the world’s first mainstream organic bev- maybe even do some R&D in the socially responsible erage — and it would need significant resources to consumer space. And there is the potential that such make that a reality. Coke, seeking its next billion- an acquisition will somehow teach the larger com- dollar brand, could surely provide those resources, pany about socially responsible business and add to but at what cost to the brand? its reputational cachet.” Coke, whose soft drink sales were in decline, was Not surprising, such corporate marriages are eager to invest in smaller, high-potential beverage fraught with perils well beyond the usual M&A con- companies, and Honest Tea fit directly into the sweet cerns. Most of these “do well by doing good” players spot (pardon the pun). For Goldman, the agreement

Briefings on Talent & Leadership 53 Finding the Perfect Partner Gary Hirshberg, a pioneer in the organic He would sell Danone a 40 percent stake walked away from the negotiating table on food movement and co-founder of Stony- in Stonyfield, and if they delivered on a list numerous occasions, always believing the field Farm, the organic yogurt maker based of additional and specific demands, Da- deal was dead. But Group Danone, whose in Londonderry, N.H., was in an enviable po- none could buy an additional 45 percent CEO Franck Riboud, Antoine Riboud’s son, sition in 2000 when suitors for his com- two years later. However, the linchpin to the was also a vocal proponent of sustainable pany came calling. Unlike Ben Cohen and deal was that Hirshberg would retain three business, proved to be an adept acquirer. Jerry Greenfield, Hirshberg didn’t have to of the five board seats in perpetuity to “There’s no way this deal would have sell. Having co-founded Stonyfield in 1983, maintain control of the company. happened without Franck Riboud at the he’d never taken the company public and he “If they wanted to buy their way into top,” Hirshberg said. “He is a very progres- had no need or desire to cash out and retire. Stonyfield and prevent competitors from sive and entrepreneurial leader.” “I did not want to sell and I didn’t have getting in, those were the terms,” he said. After one particularly distressing to,” he said. “I started this company with the “What I learned and my most powerful meeting in New Hampshire, Hirshberg left goal of changing how the world feeds it- piece of advice to others is, if you don’t ask, convinced the deal was dead. But Riboud self. I believe that organics are a prerequi- you’ll never know.” called him and invited him to lunch in Paris site for sustainable life on the planet, and I While outsiders considered his demand to discuss it. thought we had a proven model on a small “preposterous,” Hirshberg was undaunted. “I flew over and we had a long lunch,” scale. I always believed that the only way Watching the agony at Ben & Jerry’s con- Hirshberg said. “Here’s this guy leading a that organic was going to be a big part of vinced him that he would not do a deal he $20 billion company taking a couple of hours the global food system was to prove it was “absolutely wasn’t happy with.” But seren- to get down to the core issues about organ- highly profitable.” dipitously, Hirshberg found a perfect part- ics and climate change. And he said, ‘Stony- Having seen his friends at Ben & Jer- ner in Group Danone. Danone’s founder, field represents an ethic that we have to ry’s struggle with a corporate sale, Hirsh- Antoine Riboud, had believed deeply in his adopt if we are going to be successful in the berg was acutely aware of the pitfalls. company’s social mission. During a mile- 21st century. We need you more than you What prompted him to begin negotiations stone speech in Marseilles in 1972, Riboud need us.’ He rescued the deal.” with Groupe Danone, the $26 billion French said, “I firmly believe that we can be both To Philip Mirvis, senior fellow at the So- dairy food and water multinational, was efficient and human. Let us conduct our cial Innovation Lab at Babson College, the a desire for a cash infusion that would al- business as much with the heart as with Stonyfield-Group Danone relationship is low his investors to finally be paid back for the head.” an illuminating example of how the best of their vital support. Nonetheless, Hirshberg’s deep-seated such deals can succeed. Negotiating from a position of strength, distrust of big companies made the two- “They connected with Stonyfield, not Hirshberg laid out his audacious demands. year negotiation tense and stressful. He only because it was a great brand but to

struck in 2008 — a 40 percent stake in Honest Tea for a way that recognizes their obligations and opportu- $43 million for a limited but significant partnership nities around health and wellness, sustainability and — made good business sense. And the Coke manage- social responsibility.” ment team made it clear that Coke was seeking more “Investing in entrepreneurs like the team at Hon- than just profits from the acquisition. Coca-Cola, one est Tea provides us with a source of innovative ideas of the world’s iconic brands, was in the midst of seri- and energy, allowing us to launch VEB internal inno- ous soul-searching about the future of its business vations in a different way,” said Coke’s Van Rensburg. model and corporate mission. “For example, Honest Tea’s approach to sustainability “When the Coke management team presented was a terrific complement to our own efforts, and it the investment concept to the Coke board in 2007, brings a significant capability to VEB with its strong they put up a visual pictogram showing the three natural channel sales force.” megatrends of health and wellness, environmental Understanding that Coke viewed this as a busi- responsibility and social responsibility,” Goldman ness approach it needed to emulate, Goldman felt said. “They showed three circles, and there was one comfortable inking the deal. Coke retained the right small point where all three of those circles over- to buy all of Honest Tea after three years and in lapped with each other and that is where Honest Tea 2011, did just that. The results for Honest Tea (though is. Their point was that this convergence would be- Coke won’t break out profit figures) have been im- come the standard for doing business and that every pressive, according to Goldman. Before the Coke deal, company will be expected to make their decisions in Honest Tea was sold in 15,000 stores nationwide. By

The Korn/Ferry Institute push forward the whole organic movement, along with sustainable farming and product development,” Mirvis said. “Both companies are very mission-driven from their founding.” For Danone, the Stonyfield acquisition has had a stellar payoff. Revenues have skyrocketed from $78 million in 2000 to more than $360 million today. According to Hirshberg, Danone also got a firsthand lesson in an entirely different business model, one in which gross margins are much lower than Danone’s but net margins are the same. “We pay our farmers a lot more, but we make sure there is no profit sacri- fice to doing that,” Hirshberg said. “Danone learned that from us.” For Stonyfield, Danone provided world- class industrial know-how in manufactur- ing and processing systems and greatly enhanced the company’s efficiencies and metrics. “They helped us make more money and become less wasteful. We’re a world- class manufacturer now,” said Hirshberg, 58, who stepped down as CEO in January 2012 but remains chairman. “And best of all, they gave me peace of mind. I’d always carried the burden of paying off my investors, some of whom were my mother and mother-in-law. Now I can sleep at night.” —Glenn Rifkin

summer 2011, the beverage was available in more were now owned by a different company,” Goldman than 80,000 stores and is expected to climb to more said. “We demonstrated our commitment to our ide- than 100,000 sometime this year, including 1,500 als by completing our conversion of our teas to full Target stores and 6,000 CVS outlets. Honest Tea’s Fair Trade certification four weeks after the deal with revenues have more than tripled since 2008, accord- Coke was signed. Instead of taking it down a notch, ing to Goldman. we bumped it up a notch!” More important to Goldman is that Coke seems Goldman acknowledges the inevitable chal- to be in lockstep with Honest Tea’s sustainability lenges. When the first Coke investment was an- agenda, collaborating on many environmental and nounced in 2008, Honest Tea lost several accounts. social initiatives that demonstrate Coke’s commit- And due to the giant corporation’s bureaucracy, ment to a new mission. Honest Tea’s authenticity, he Honest Tea cannot move as quickly to market with pointed out, was built upon sustainability, organics, new products as it did as an independent entity. Fair Trade — all potentially questionable characteris- But for Goldman, the upside far outweighs the nega- tics when consumers hear that a company like Coca- tives. In order to change the American diet, instill Cola is investing. Those are not equities necessarily the value of organics and spread its reach far beyond associated with the Coke brand. Whole Foods and natural food co-ops, Honest Tea “What we were really doing was asking our cus- required Coke’s massive global scope and reach. And tomers to accept the same Honest Tea that they al- the key to the acquisition’s success was the three-

AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty ways accepted but with the understanding that we year collaboration before the final acquisition. “The

Briefings on Talent & Leadership Q3.2012 55 I acted,sotheywouldhavesaidno,” heexplained. Tea encouragedustoobtainorganiccertificationat your value,”Goldmansaid. Honest Kidsbeverages, andthelabelonthosebottles relationship wastested.HonestTea offeredaline of ment, pointing out the importance of thispromise pointingouttheimportanceof ment, a bottlingplant.” Honest Coca-Cola businessandculture.“Watching included apromise:“No highfructosecornsyrup.” assess howHonestTea’s presencewouldimpactthe Coke objectedtothelanguage,believingitcastaneg- Coke madeitsinitialinvestmentinHonestTea, the when theinevitableconflictsarise? Not longafter ative lightonCoke’s thesweetenerinmany useof happens always pavedwithgoodintentions.What and learnaboutthecorecompetencieseachcould backed off,” Goldman said. “We alsousedthesitua- backed off,”Goldmansaid. best waytoprotectyourinterestisdemonstrate to makeandbegrantedanunusualdemand,that ourfacilities,”three of hesaid,andtoestablish“a to parentsbuyingproductsfor their children. wouldn’t haveknownwhoIwasandhow “They tic. tionship, suchademandwouldnothavebeenrealis- tions auniqueopportunitytobuildourrelationship he retain a portion of hisownpersonalequityinthe he retainaportionof he wasstickingaround.Withoutthethree-yearrela- game anddemonstratepubliclytohisemployeesthat company. Insodoing,hewouldhaveskininthe thebrand.”contribute tothegrowthof minority The extremely importantasitprovidedbothorganiza- state-of-the-art teabrewingandfiltrationsystemat stake alsogaveCokeavantagepointfromwhichto of itsofferings.of Goldman refusedtochangethestate- “At thetime,Cokewas aminorityowner, sothey After demonstratinghisvalue,Goldmanwasable Van Rensburg agreed. “The three-yearperiodwas Van Rensburgagreed.“The Of course,theroadtoacquisitionnirvanais Of “both sideswerenotcomfortablewitheachother.” The After theHoneymoon In theearlyyearsafteracquisition,Furmansaid, (Cohen andGreenfielddeclinedtobeinterviewed.) mountains of northwest Vermont, theBen&Jerry’s Vermont, northwest mountains of feeling wasthatitastrainto getneededinforma- was vehementinitsdeterminationtoremaininde- Clearly, alegallybindingagreementare thedetailsof Cohen andGreenfielddistanced themselvesfromthe weren’t lookingtodothis,” hesaid. and toourconsumers. Anditstillhasthatsame pendent. “We didn’t activelyseekasuitor, “We pendent. andwe painful momentforthememotionally,” saidFurman. the company.” tions inanyacquisition.Butsometimeseventhat tion, andsomedoubtedthatthere wasan“open and that theremightbeamorecomfortablefit. the icecreammaker’sperformance.Atakeoverbe- tion as a great lesson for all of usonbothsides.tion asagreatlessonforallof We keep puttinginlanguagethatismeaningfultous honest commitmentonbothsides tomakethiswork.” duced UnilevertoCohenandGreenfieldinhopes language onthepackagetoday, andnowCokeowns gan toseeminevitable.Stonyfield’sHirshbergintro- got themtoagree,beforeweputtogetherthefinal cannot guaranteetranquility. Upintheidyllicgreen crucial insettingtransparentandeffectiveexpecta- company, thoughtheyneverseveredtiescompletely. cially on the social mission side. The buyout“wasa cially onthesocialmissionside.The company anymorebuttheyremainedactive,espe- of institutionalinvestorswhowereconcernedabout out, thecompanyknewitsshareswereinhands of itsoriginal,like-mindedinvestorshavingcashed operating agreement, thatweneedtobeable operating agreement, Neither CohennorGreenfieldwererunningthe But havinggonepublicin1984,andwithmost Hubby musthaveanexceptional Jerry’s board,saidthecompany Furman,asocialactivistand Jeff Jerry’s hadasaviorwhoofferedthe are nevereasy. InUnilever, Ben& best of anundesirablesituation. best of that producesicecreamflavors long-time chairman of theBen& long-time chairmanof current state of bliss.current stateof Acompany crew hadtoendurelongstretches scure the trauma of thetakeover.scure thetraumaof humor.sense of Butthatdidn’t ob- such asSchweddyBallsandChubby of discontentbeforereachingits of Unwanted orhostiletakeovers The Korn/Ferry Ins titute

Courtesy Ben & Jerry’s Furman said the Ben & Jerry’s board did not have Unilever’s support, has pressed for approval of same- the powers of a real board of directors. It had a con- sex marriage and campaign finance reform, while tractual relationship but not the responsibilities of Cohen and Greenfield publicly announced support most boards. For example, it could make recommen- for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Havelock dations on the CEO’s bonus but it could not hire or stated that Unilever has always understood that fire the CEO. It was focused mainly on the third as- Cohen and Greenfield are activists with strong view- pect of the triple bottom line, the social mission, and points. “They are free to have those views, and we for a long time, it felt that Unilever was not inter- respect those views,” he said, though not going so far ested in pursuing a truly progressive social agenda. as to suggest that Unilever will publicly endorse all Perfunctory attempts to support environmental con- their positions. “It’s great that they are positively cerns didn’t impress anyone. “Leading by progres- engaged and enjoying this phase of Ben & Jerry’s life,” sive values really means something to us,” Furman he added. said. “It didn’t feel like the energy was there.” The new detente is real, according to Ben & Jerry’s In fact, Unilever’s origins are surprisingly har- rank and file. Kirsten Schimoler, a senior food scien- monious with Ben & Jerry’s philosophical underpin- tist in the company’s South Burlington, Vt., headquar- nings. Founded as Lever Brothers in England in 1885, ters, worked at Unilever’s food division in its U.S. the companies that would later become Unilever corporate offices in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., for four took an activist role in improving hygiene and nutri- tion as well as living conditions. For example, founder Lord William Hesketh Lever invented a new Unilever’s Havelock credits its relation- soap for working class women during the Industrial Revolution. Unable to afford the luxurious soaps ship with Ben & Jerry’s for teaching the used by the wealthy, these women were forced to use lye to remove the dirt and grime. Lord Lever’s Sun- corporate giant about initiating stretch light Soap was intended “to make cleanliness com- monplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health goals that really test the organization. and contribute to personal attractiveness.” In the new millennium, Unilever has launched its “Sustainable Living Plan,” an ambitious effort years before transferring to Ben & Jerry’s two years aimed at halving the environmental footprint of all ago. “When I first got here, there were different peo- of its products by the year 2020. Unilever’s Havelock ple in leadership, and there was a sense that it was credits its relationship with Ben & Jerry’s for teach- Ben & Jerry’s versus Unilever,” she said. “It’s defi- ing the corporate giant about initiating stretch goals nitely become a lot easier to work together lately, and that really test the organization. “We’re helped by the cross-pollination is happening more and more.” having an organization like Ben & Jerry’s, where that From a pure business perspective, the acquisi- has always mattered so much,” he said. “We’re learn- tion is an unquestioned success. Ben & Jerry’s has ing from an organization that has always put stretch grown every year since the acquisition and has more objectives into areas such as this, about how to find than doubled its revenues. With Unilever’s world- completely new Fair Trade, sustainable sources of wide reach, its global supply chain, production and product.” In just the past couple of years, the rela- research and development facilities, the brand is tionship has warmed substantially. stronger than ever and is available in nearly 30 coun- The arrival of Jostein Solheim, an 18-year Unilever tries. By any measure, it is a crown jewel in Unilever’s ice cream division veteran, has made a significant brand portfolio. impact. Unilever’s increased social activism also David Stever, Ben & Jerry’s vice president of mar- helped, but according to Furman what really shifted keting, is a 23-year veteran who has seen the before the mood was a decision on both sides to eliminate and after. “It’s been like five different companies in the bickering and move the organization forward. that time period, so it’s evolved and changed,” he said. “We stopped arguing about what happened last week “Right now, I would say that we are as Ben & Jerry’s and decided to try to make the agreement work from as Ben & Jerry’s has ever been.” a fresh start,” Furman said. Cohen and Greenfield, roving brand ambassadors, Glenn Rifkin has written for The New York Times, Fast Company, have re-emerged in a visible way. The company, with Strategy + Business, and many other publications.

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