The co-founder of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's says that its parent company Unilever blocked it from launching an ice cream flavour that expressed solidarity with Palestine.
Ben Cohen announced that he will independently create the new flavour as part of a personal series highlighting causes the company has been barred from addressing publicly.
Ben & Jerry's is known for its activism on social issues and has consistently spoken out on political, environmental and humanitarian matters - including the Israel-Gaza conflict.
A spokesperson for the Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's ice cream arm, said it had determined that now is not the right time to invest in developing this product.
Mr Cohen's statement deepens the long-drawn dispute between the world-famous ice cream maker and Unilever, the British packaged goods giant which has owned Ben & Jerry's since 2000.
The co-founders said Unilever and Magnum, which is in the process of being spun off from its parent company, had unlawfully blocked their company from honouring its social mission.
Mr Cohen said in an Instagram video on Tuesday that he is creating a new watermelon-flavoured sorbet, calling for ideas for the product's name and what ingredients should be added. The watermelon has become a symbol for solidarity with Palestinians due to its colours, which are similar to those of the Palestinian flag – red, green, black, and white.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry's refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel. Its Israeli operation was sold by Unilever to a local licensee, allowing its ice cream to continue being sold in the occupied West Bank.
The dessert series will be developed under Ben's Best, Mr Cohen's activist ice cream brand, he said in a statement to the press. The flavour is being produced independently of Ben & Jerry's.
Mr Cohen said he will develop other ice cream flavours that speak to the issues Ben & Jerry's was silenced from addressing publicly by Unilever.
