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The co-founders of the well-known frozen dessert company Ben & Jerry's has announced that parent company Unilever blocked the introduction of an innovative pro-Palestinian frozen dessert product.

The entrepreneur, who established the company alongside his partner, disclosed how he plans to independently develop this new flavor within an individual series showcasing causes Ben & Jerry's was prevented from speaking out about.

Longstanding Conflict Involving Founders versus Parent Company

This latest development escalates the continuing conflict among the internationally recognized ice cream maker with Unilever, the British consumer goods corporation that acquired the ice cream brand since 2000.

The co-founders have asserted how Unilever and its ice cream arm Magnum unlawfully blocked their company from "maintaining its activist principles".

Watermelon Flavor as a Symbol for Support

Mr. Cohen stated via social media how he's developing a new watermelon-based sorbet, asking for consumer ideas regarding the product's name and potential ingredients.

“I'm doing what they couldn't,” the founder declared in his kitchen. “I'm creating a watermelon-based frozen dessert that calls for lasting ceasefire in Palestine and calls for repairing the damage that occurred in the region.”

This particular fruit has become an emblem for solidarity with the Palestinian people because of its coloration, which match the colors in Palestine's national banner – red, green, black and white.

Historical Activism plus Current Developments

In 2021, Ben & Jerry's ceased sales of its products in areas occupied by Israel, resulting in Unilever transferring the Israeli operation to a local licensee, thereby permitting ongoing distribution in the occupied West Bank.

The new dessert series will be created through Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the activist ice cream brand that originally established several years back for endorsing former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with the flavor "Bernie's Return".

Leadership Changes and Upcoming Intentions

Mr. Cohen stated that he plans to create additional frozen dessert varieties that address concerns which Ben & Jerry's was silenced from speaking about openly due to corporate restrictions.

This development comes after co-founder Jerry Greenfield stepped down from Ben & Jerry's in September, following decades with the organization, citing concerns that its independence had been undermined after Unilever's decision to curb their advocacy work.

Previously, Mr. Cohen remarked that “My partner has strong compassion and this conflict with Unilever was breaking it."

“My conscience leads me to keep working inside the company to advocate for its independence so that the company can actualise its ethical purpose, the values which it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years," he told journalists.

• Parent company restrictions regarding political advocacy
• Independent flavor creation from company founders
• The fruit-based product as social statement
• Continuing tensions between parent company versus social mission