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The co-founders behind the famous frozen dessert company Ben and Jerry's has announced how corporate owner Unilever blocked the launch for an innovative pro-Palestinian frozen dessert product.

The entrepreneur, who established the business with Jerry Greenfield, revealed how he will personally create this new product as part of an individual series showcasing issues Ben & Jerry's was barred from addressing publicly.

Longstanding Conflict Involving Founders and Corporate Owner

The recent announcement deepens the continuing tension among the internationally recognized dessert company with its corporate parent, the UK-based packaged goods giant which has owned Ben & Jerry's since 2000.

Both founders maintain how Unilever along with its ice cream arm Magnum unlawfully blocked Ben & Jerry's from "honouring its social mission".

The Fruit Sorbet as an Emblem for Solidarity

Mr. Cohen announced via an Instagram video how he's developing an innovative watermelon-flavored sorbet, requesting public suggestions regarding the product's name and potential ingredients.

“I'm doing what they couldn't,” the founder declared in a cooking set. “I'm making a watermelon-based ice cream that advocates for permanent peace in Palestine and calls for addressing the harm that was done there.”

The watermelon has become an emblem of solidarity with Palestinians due to its coloration, that match the colors in the Palestinian flag – the distinctive four-color pattern.

Previous Activism plus Recent Changes

Several years ago, the ice cream company refused to sell its products in areas under Israeli control, leading to the parent company selling their Israel business to an Israeli distributor, thereby permitting ongoing distribution in disputed territories.

The new product line will be created through Ben's Best, the socially conscious dessert company which originally created in 2016 to support former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders via the flavor "Bernie's Back".

Management Changes and Upcoming Intentions

Mr. Cohen revealed how he will create additional frozen dessert varieties focusing on issues that the company was silenced from speaking about openly due to Unilever.

The announcement follows partner Mr. Greenfield stepped down his position at the company in September, following decades of involvement, mentioning concerns that the company's autonomy had been undermined after Unilever's decision to curb its social activism.

Previously, Ben Cohen stated how “My partner has a really big heart and the ongoing dispute with Unilever was breaking it."

“My conscience leads me to keep working within the organization to advocate for its independence so that the company can actualise the social mission, the values which it was founded on while upholding for decades," he explained to journalists.

• Corporate owner restrictions on social activism
• Independent flavor creation from company founders
• The fruit-based product serving as political symbol
• Continuing disagreements between parent company versus social mission