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The original creators of the well-known ice cream brand Ben & Jerry's has stated how corporate owner Unilever prevented the launch for an innovative pro-Palestinian ice cream flavor.

The entrepreneur, who established the company with his partner, announced how he will independently develop the controversial product as part of a personal collection highlighting issues Ben & Jerry's was barred from speaking out about.

Ongoing Dispute Between Creators versus Parent Company

The recent development intensifies the continuing conflict among the internationally recognized ice cream maker with Unilever, the British packaged goods giant which acquired Ben & Jerry's since 2000.

The co-founders have claimed that the parent company along with their ice cream division Magnum improperly prevented Ben & Jerry's from "maintaining its activist principles".

The Fruit Flavor becoming a Symbol of Support

The entrepreneur announced via an Instagram video that he's developing a new watermelon-based frozen dessert, requesting consumer ideas for the product's name plus additional components.

“I'm accomplishing what they were prevented from doing,” the founder stated in a cooking set. “I'm making a watermelon-based frozen dessert that calls for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for addressing the harm that was done there.”

The watermelon has emerged as a symbol for support for Palestinians because of its coloration, which mirror the colors in the Palestinian flag – the distinctive four-color pattern.

Historical Social Engagement plus Recent Changes

In 2021, the ice cream company refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel, resulting in Unilever selling their Israel business over to an Israeli distributor, thus allowing continued sales in the occupied West Bank.

The new dessert series will be developed under Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the socially conscious ice cream brand which was first created several years back to support former US presidential candidate Senator Sanders with the flavor "Bernie's Back".

Management Shifts and Future Plans

Mr. Cohen indicated that he will develop additional frozen dessert varieties focusing on issues that the company was prevented from addressing publicly by Unilever.

The announcement comes after partner Jerry Greenfield stepped down from the company in September, after decades of involvement, citing concerns that the company's autonomy had been undermined following corporate moves to restrict their advocacy work.

At that time, Ben Cohen stated how "Jerry has a really big heart and this conflict with Unilever was breaking it."

“My conscience compels me to keep working inside the company to fight for corporate autonomy so that it can fulfill its ethical purpose, the principles which it was founded on while upholding for decades," he explained to media outlets.

• Corporate owner limitations on political advocacy
• Personal flavor creation from company founders
• The fruit-based product serving as political symbol
• Continuing disagreements among corporate ownership versus ethical values