Ben & Jerry’s has accused its parent group, Unilever, of sacking the ice-cream brand’s chief executive for refusing to “oversee the dismantling” of its progressive values.
David Stever – who led the company for almost two years having first joined it as a tour guide in 1988 – was “removed” from his post earlier this month, it has was claimed in a court filing from the US-based brand.
Ben & Jerry’s alleged in a submission to the US district court for the southern district of New York that Unilever, the UK-based consumer group that owns brands including Marmite and Dove, wanted to stop the boss from making political statements.
Anuradha Mittal, the chair of Ben & Jerry’s independent board, said: “Dave has courageously advanced the company’s social mission and values, has continued to drive innovation in its super premium product range, and has delivered strong financial results, far outpacing the rest of Unilever’s ice-cream business.
“What Dave hasn’t done is what Unilever would like him to do, which is to oversee the dismantling of Ben & Jerry’s mission, progressive values.”
The court action is the latest episode in a testy relationship between the ice-cream brand and its parent group, which ousted its own chief executive, Hein Schumacher, last month and replaced him with its finance chief, Fernando Fernandez, to speed up a turnaround process.
Last month, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of demanding that it stop publicly criticising Donald Trump. And in November it launched legal action against its parent, accusing the company of trying to block it from making public statements supporting Palestinian refugees in the conflict in Gaza.
It claimed Unilever had breached the terms of a confidential settlement agreed in 2022 after a clash over plans to stop selling its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Ben & Jerry’s, which was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978, was bought by the UK-based consumer goods group in 2000.
As part of the merger deal, an independent board was set up to protect the ice-cream brand’s mission and strong stance on social issues.
Mittal also accused Unilever of wanted to dismantle that agreement, which he said had “protected Ben & Jerry’s position as a wholly owned autonomous subsidiary, the very things that have created the company’s financial success and incredible brand loyalty among its fans.
“That is why the independent board has sued Unilever and why Unilever is seeking to punish the chief executive.”
The court filing said: “Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including CEO David Stever, should they fail to comply with Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission.
“On 3 March 2025, Unilever informed the independent board that they were removing and replacing Mr Stever as Ben & Jerry’s CEO.”
Unilever fired back on Wednesday afternoon, seeking a dismissal of Ben & Jerry’s earlier complaint.
It said it supports Ben & Jerry’s and its social advocacy work, but the social mission has evolved into advocacy for “one-sided, highly controversial, and polarizing topics that put Unilever, B&J’s, and their employees at risk”.
Unilever’s filing does not address the proposed amended complaint or Stever’s job.
In a statement, Unilever said the 2000 agreement governed removal decisions, and it was “disappointed that the confidentiality of an employee career conversation has been made public”.
Stever is still shown as chief executive on the Ben & Jerry’s website. Ben & Jerry’s and its lawyers did not immediately address requests for comment.
The two parties have had a series of disputes in recent years, with particular tensions over Ben & Jerry’s move to halt sales in the West Bank in 2021. Unilever blocked the attempt but was then sued by Ben & Jerry’s.
The latest row comes after Unilever announced plans to list its ice-cream business on the Amsterdam stock exchange.
The listing will separate a division that makes five of the world’s top-selling 10 ice-cream brands, including Wall’s, Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s. It also makes Cornetto, Viennetta, Carte d’Or and Breyers, which is big in the US.
