I think it’s safe to say that we’re all familiar with this iconic ice cream brand, founded right here in Vermont! You may think that this is a simple story of an ice cream shop that happened to expand globally, but there’s much to this story, so I will do my best to keep it concise. Some things had to be left out. A lot of the info in this blog post comes from their own website.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded Ben & Jerry’s in 1978 in Burlington, VT. With starting funds of just $12,000 ($59,165 in 2025 dollars), their first ice cream parlor was in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington. It was successful enough that just one year later, they started their “free cone day,” which still exists to this day. There was a break from this from 2020-2023, presumably due to the COVID pandemic. Free cone day tends to happen in April each year, so if you want your free cone, head to your nearest Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop on the right day!
An interesting thing to note, is that Ben has anosmia, a lack of sense of smell, so he relied more on texture. It was because of this that their iconic chunks were introduced into many of their flavors!
In 1983, Ben and Jerry did a publicity stunt of sorts, by making “the world’s largest ice cream sundae” in St. Albans, VT, which weighed 27,102 lbs.
In 1984 and again in 1987, Häagen-Dazs attempted to restrict Ben & Jerry’s distribution, triggering two lawsuits of Ben & Jerry’s against Häagen-Dazs’s parent company, Pillsbury.
In 1985, the Waterbury, VT, factory was built. The photos below are from April 2022, when my daughter and I visited the Waterbury location! They have a playground there for your little ones. They also have their Flavor Graveyard there, which pays respect to all the retired flavors from over the years.
Over the next several years from opening their first location, Ben & Jerry’s expanded throughout Vermont and eventually into other states. In 1987, they went international, opening their first shop in Israel. They are now found in multiple countries around the world, which is impressive for a small Vermont startup company!
In 1989, recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) was removed from all their products.
In 1994, the book Ben & Jerry’s: The Inside Scoop was written.
In the year 2000, Ben & Jerry sat down with Unilever to sell their brand for $326 million ($607M in 2025 dollars), but under the agreement that Unilever carry on Ben & Jerry’s vision of economic and social missions. This has mostly been followed by Unilever over the years.
On Earth Day in 2005, the U.S. Senate proposed opening drilling in the Arctic Refuge (currently over 19 million acres large). However, in protest, Ben & Jerry created the largest ever baked Alaska dessert, weighing 900 lbs., and placed it in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. The drilling provision went back and forth a few times but ultimately failed.
In 2013, Ben & Jerry’s went GMO-free!
I’ve skipped over some landmark dates, but rest assured that Ben & Jerry have both been fighting for social causes from day one and they continue to do so, which is something to be admired.
Currently, Ben & Jerry’s has 98 total ice cream flavors on the market in scoop shops and in stores, 19 of which are non-dairy flavors. And impressive feat which is unmatched by any other ice cream company!
There will be no blog post next week, so come back in two weeks! Topic: TBD.
Justin
There is a brass plaque, paying homage to the original B&Js gas station/ice cream shop, imbedded in the sidewalk on the corner of St. Paul and College in Burlington.