Blog Post 1: HERE’S THE SCOOP ON BEN & JERRY’S
Ben & Jerry’s is a highly successful company that started out as a dream in the brains of two misfits, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Their company started when neither of them had a real professional plan. Together they took a five-dollar correspondence course in how to make ice cream. Successful in the course they decided to move from upstate New York to Vermont. Pooling their life savings and borrowing money they scraped up enough cash to open their first store, in an old gas station in Burlington, Vermont.
Having lived in Vermont, it is interesting for me top imagine the two transplanted Long Island New Yorkers finding a fit in the Burlington community. Their laid-back approach to life hid their potential to become first-rate entrepreneurs and probably helped them find acceptance in the somewhat closed Vermont community.
At the end of the first year, in May 1979, the company Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, had turned a profit. To celebrate, they offered their customers “Free Cones Day,” a tradition they still continue. Though small, it was the company’s first philanthropic gesture.
The first ten years of operation, 1978-1988, were a learning curve and time of great expansion for the company. But the years took their toll on the non-executive type owners. As a result, Ben and Jerry decided to use the company’s profits to get involved in social activism at the community level.
With their new found sense of purpose, the owners set down their goals and objectives in a carefully crafted Mission Statement that has helped them follow their hearts while enjoying success but it has also been the best marketing strategy possible.
As a consumer, I feel good buying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. It is a company that has the happiest employees, gives back to communities all over the world, and funds grass roots initiatives that have a social conscience. Not only that, the ice cream, low-fat yogurt, and sorbet all taste great!
Along the way to great success, Ben & Jerry’s has had a few surprising moments. One was in 1984 when they took on the giant, Pillsbury, fighting to expand against their competitor’s wishes. That fight initiated one of Ben & Jerry's most memorable advertising campaign, "What's the Dough Boy Afraid Of?"
Ben & Jerry's has two major philanthropic avenues: Ben & Jerry's Foundation, Ben & Jerry’s "1% For Peace” program. What is most unique, and what appeals to me, is the fact that the Ben & Jerry's Foundation is completely separate from the company. The foundation is run completely by employees and its focus is on local communities. The 1% For Peace program is just what its name implies, a group aimed at promoting peace by using 1% of the national defense budget to make peace, not war.
Ben & Jerry’s produces products I love, has a social conscience that I share, and has the means to do charitable work that I can’t possibly fund. I’m obviously not alone in my views, other consumers concur. I like the idea of supporting positive causes by eating ice cream. Are you up for a scoop?
Check out the company’s web site: http://www.benjerry.com/
