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One of the co-founders of the famous frozen dessert company Ben and Jerry's has claimed how parent company Unilever blocked the introduction for a new pro-Palestinian ice cream flavor.

Ben Cohen, who established the company alongside his partner, announced that he plans to personally create this new product within an individual series showcasing issues Ben & Jerry's has been prevented from addressing publicly.

Ongoing Conflict Involving Founders versus Corporate Owner

This latest announcement escalates the ongoing disagreement among the internationally recognized dessert company with its corporate parent, the British consumer goods giant that acquired Ben & Jerry's for over two decades.

Both founders have claimed that the parent company along with its ice cream arm the Magnum brand improperly prevented Ben & Jerry's against "honouring its social mission".

The Fruit Flavor becoming an Emblem for Support

The entrepreneur revealed via an Instagram video how he is creating an innovative watermelon-based sorbet, asking for consumer ideas regarding naming options and potential ingredients.

“I'm doing what they couldn't,” the founder declared in a cooking set. “I'm creating a watermelon-flavored 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 the Palestinian people because of its colors, that match the colors in Palestine's national banner – red, green, black and white.

Previous Activism plus Recent Developments

In 2021, Ben & Jerry's ceased sales of its products in territories under Israeli control, leading to Unilever selling the Israeli operation to a local licensee, thereby permitting continued sales in disputed territories.

The new product line is being created through Ben's Best, the activist ice cream brand which originally established several years back to support former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders via the flavor "Bernie's Back".

Leadership Shifts and Upcoming Plans

The founder stated that he plans to develop additional frozen dessert varieties focusing on concerns which Ben & Jerry's was silenced from addressing publicly by corporate restrictions.

This development follows partner Mr. Greenfield resigned from the company in September, following decades with the organization, mentioning worries that its independence had been undermined following Unilever's decision to curb their advocacy work.

Previously, Ben Cohen remarked that “My partner has a really big heart and this conflict with our parent company was deeply distressing him."

“My conscience compels me to continue to work within the organization to advocate for its independence ensuring that it can actualise the social mission, the principles which it was founded on and has maintained for decades," he explained to media outlets.

• Parent company limitations regarding political advocacy
• Independent flavor creation by original creators
• The fruit-based product as social statement
• Continuing disagreements between parent company versus ethical values