Ben & Jerry’s forced to end Israel boycott

FMCG giant Unilever has prevented Ben and Jerry’s from boycotting Israel by selling the ice cream brand’s operations in the country to a local manufacturer.

The parent company of the ice cream giant has blocked efforts make a political stance in the country, saying it “rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance”.

The move follows claims made by Ben & Jerry’s saying selling into occupied Palestinian territory was “inconsistent” with its values.

READ MORE: Ben & Jerry’s owner Unilever ‘warms up’ ice cream freezers to tackle emissions

It also added that it would not be renewing its licence agreement with its franchise partner in Isreal. However, this week, Unilever has revealed it has overruled its subsidiary resulting in the a local ice cream maker buying Ben & Jerry’s operations, following consultation with the Isreali government.

As a result, the owner of American Quality Products, Avi Zinger will become Ben & Jerry’s owner in the country.

Zinger’s legal team said the decision by Unilever was part of a settlement, saying that “there is no place for discrimination in the commercial sale of ice cream.”

Ben & Jerry’s said that its parent company had taken the decision.

“We do not agree with it,” the ice cream maker said on its Twitter account, revealing that it would no longer profit from sales of its products in Israel. The statement added: “We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”

Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter

FMCGNewsSupermarkets

RELATED POSTS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

Menu

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Sign up to our daily newsletter to get all the latest grocery news and insights direct to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.