39BloombergBusinessweek July 27, 2020
particularlyuncomfortablefactata momentwhenglucoseis
increasinglyregardedasthenewtobacco,andit clashes,too,
withthecompany’sworkinsupportofBlackAmericans,who
aremorelikelytocontractType2 diabetesthanWhites.The
companyalsobaffledmanyprogressivecustomersin1997—
anddismayedsomemembersofitsownboard—when,despite
itshistoryofcampaigningtoendgunviolence,it appointed
PerryOdak,who’dpreviouslyruna firearmsmanufacturer,
asCEO.Odak’sfractioustenureendedlessthana yearafter
thesaletoUnilever.
AndMittalis quicktoacknowledgethatBen& Jerry’shas
shortcomingsofitsownwhereinclusionis concerned.While
theboard’ssevendirectorsdoincludefourwomenandthree
peopleofcolor,twoofwhomareBlack,themajorityofits
workforceandleadership,shesays,remain“allveryWhite.”
InpartthisreflectsVermont’sdemographicmakeup—the
stateis 94%White—soBen& Jerry’shasbeenseekingother
waysofbecomingmorediverse.Mittalsaysthecompanyis,
forinstance,examininghowtosourcea greatershareofits
ingredientsfromBlack-ownedfarms.
Ben& Jerry’slongtrackrecordofactivismhastendedto
mitigateanyperceivedsins,helpingit avoidaccusationsof
insinceritywhenit speaksout.Andthecompanyhaslargely
managednottoberegardedasopportunistic—ofusingsocial
consciousnesstoincreasesales.Inrecentyears,keepingrev-
enueuphasbecomeevermorecrucialasit fendsoffa rashof
insurgents,fromlow-caloriealternativessuchasHaloTopto
chichiprobioticchoicessuchasFoxy’sThoughtfulIceCream.
Solheimsayssaleswereneverthepoint,stressingthatBen
& Jerry’scampaignshaveneitherhurtnorhelpeddemand
duringhiseightyearsrunningthecompany.Hetracesthe
fundamentalappealofitspintstotheirindulgentflavors,
aswellastocarefullytimedpricereductionsandproduct
releases.Inhisview,thecompany’sexpressionsofprinciple
serve,rather,tocementitslong-termstandingwithsocially
mindedfans.“Loyaltyis prettyvaluableinthisbusiness,”he
says.“Ifwesharevaluesonclimate,same-sexmarriagerights,
racism,I thinkthat’sa deeperbondthansugarandfat.”
T
hesedays,Ben& Jerry’sactivismteamcountsalmost
20 full-timemembers,includingcharacterssuchas
DaveRapaport—theglobalsocialmissionofficer—
whooncespentseveraldaysintheNevadadesert
beingchasedbyarmedsecurityforcesinhelicoptersafter
hetriedtostopa nuclearweaponstestexplosion.Ithas
a budgetthat’saslargeasa fifthofthemarketingdepart-
ment’sdiscretionaryspending,whichrunsintothemillions
ofdollars.(TheBen& Jerry’sFoundation,whichthecom-
panyfunds,alsoearmarksabout$2.5millionannuallyto
grassrootscausesacrosstheU.S.Runningtheshowis Miller,
whose posts onBen& Jerry’ssocialmediaaccountshave
helpedbringmorethan130,000newsignatoriestoColor
ofChangepetitionsinthepastyearalone.)
OnJuneteenth,theactivismteampublisheda blogpost
announcingitsnextproject:defundingU.S.policeforces.
Thatproject,likethestatementontheGeorgeFloydkilling
Millerdrafted,followsfroma recentemphasisoncriminal
justicereform,a causeBen& Jerry’shassupportedsinceat
leastthelate’80s,whenit begansourcingthebrowniebites
foundinsomeflavorsfromNewYork’sGreystonBakery,
whichprovidesjobsandtrainingtoformerlyincarcerated
peopleandthosewhoarehomeless.
In 2015 thefoundationbroughtexecutivesandboard
membersto North Carolina,where Reverend William
Barber’sMoralMondaysmovementoncivilandenviron-
mentalrightswastakingoff.Threeyearslater,aheadof
theU.S.midtermelections,thecreameryrebrandedits
NewYorkSuperFudgeChunktoPecanResistinresponse
toTrumpadministrationpoliciesthatthreatenedthecivil
rightsofwomen,peopleofcolor,refugees,immigrants,and
theLGBTQcommunity.(Thepunonpe-canwasmoreevi-
dentinVermontthan,say,Georgia,wherethewordis pro-
nouncedpa-KAHN.)Lastyearit introducedJusticeReMix’d,a
varietythatincludescinnamonbunandspicyfudgebrownie
chunks,inpartnershipwiththeAdvancementProject,a racial
justiceadvocacygroup.Itsfactoriesarealsooutfittedwithart
paintedbyformerinmates,andit’sbroughtinpoliticalfig-
uressuchasVermontSenatorBernieSandersandthelateU.S.
RepresentativeJohnLewisofGeorgiatospeaktoitswork-
forceandcounselmanagementontherace-relatedimbal-
ancesthatpervadethejudicialsystem.
Ben&Jerry’ssocialjusticeeffortsaccelerateda year
afterthetriptoNorthCarolina,whenitsfirstblogposton
BLMdrewsomuchtrafficit brokeitswebsite.Themore
comprehensive statement the company issued in June “came
from a muscle that was continuously being developed from
the board and management team over time,” says Daryn
Dodson, a board member and managing director at Illumen
Capital Management LLC, an investment firm focused on
reducing implicit bias. “It didn’t just happen. It came out of
years of work and commitment of which we’ll never stop.”
Conversations about the root causes of racial inequality
and systemic abuses by law enforcement still seem to over-
whelm large swaths of the business community at times.
It’s challenging, Miller acknowledges, even for a company
that’s long tried to be a rising voice for change. He mentions a
recent conference call related to their new campaign, during
which the debate became so heated he had to tell everyone to
park it for a minute. “It felt like a conversation I would have
had back in my Greenpeace days,” he says. “I made some
comment that this is likely not a conversation that is happen-
ing right now at Häagen-Dazs.” <BW>“If we share values on climate, same-sex marriage rights,
racism, I think that’s a deeper bond than sugar and fat”