Brad Edmondson is an award-winning journalist and business consultant, the cofounder of ePodunk.com, and the former editor-in-chief of American Demographics magazine. He is a nationally recognized expert on consumer trends, advertising, and marketing, as well as a frequent keynote speaker at national conferences.
Ice Cream Social: The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry's
by Brad Edmondson, Annie Leonard (Foreword by), Jeff Furman (Epilogue by)
Paperback
(New Edition)
- ISBN-13: 9781609948139
- Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
- Publication date: 01/06/2014
- Edition description: New Edition
- Pages: 304
- Sales rank: 417,391
- Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)
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The Riveting True Story of One Of the World’s Most Iconic Mission-Driven Companies
Ben & Jerry’s has always been committed to an insanely ambitious three-part mission: making the world’s best ice cream, supporting progressive causes, and sharing the company’s success with all stakeholders: employees, suppliers, distributors, customers, cows, everybody. But it hasn’t been easy.
This is the first book to tell the full, inside story of the inspiring rise, tragic mistakes, devastating fall, determined recovery, and ongoing renewal of one of the most iconic mission-driven companies in the world. No previous book has focused so intently on the challenges presented by staying true to that mission. No other book has explained how the company came to be sold to corporate giant Unilever or how that relationship evolved to allow Ben & Jerry’s to pursue its mission on a much larger stage.
Journalist Brad Edmondson tells the story with an eye for details, dramatic moments, and memorable characters. He interviewed dozens of key figures, particularly Jeff Furman, who helped Ben and Jerry write their first business plan in 1978 and became chairman of the board in 2010. It’s a funny, sad, surprising, and ultimately hopeful story.
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—Martin Luther King III, human rights activist
“As this fine telling of the Ben & Jerry’s story indicates, it’s harder than it looks to integrate consumer capitalism and political integrity. There are lessons here: hard ones and of course some sweet ones.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist
“A fascinating look behind the scenes of a company as beloved as the ice cream it makes.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times bestselling author and Founding Editor, Economic Hardship Reporting Project
“The pioneering experience of Ben & Jerry’s shows that corporate social responsibility can, thankfully, be contagious. Brad Edmondson takes us behind the scenes to tell this riveting and timely story.”
—United States Senator Patrick Leahy
“This book reveals the true ingredients that go into every pint of Ben & Jerry’s: GMO-free cream, fair-trade cane sugar, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.”
—Eric Utne, founder, Utne Reader
“What once was radical is becoming mainstream. By earning B Corp certification, Ben & Jerry’s has proven that you can sell without selling out and scale with integrity. Much of the global movement to redefine success in business stands on its shoulders, and much of what we know about better practices and better governance can be traced to lessons the company learned the hard way. Finally, this important story has been well and completely told.”
—Jay Coen Gilbert, cofounder, B Lab
“Brad Edmondson vividly conveys the passion, conflicts, and raw humanity behind an iconic brand. He gives us an uncensored look at how smart, caring people poured their hearts and souls into making Ben & Jerry’s the standard-bearer for ‘caring capitalism.’ The story leaves the reader in awe of all they achieved, and it also imparts invaluable lessons by talking frankly about their failures. It puts on full display the contradictions and painful choices that eventually confront all successful mission-driven businesses. It’s a journey into uncharted territory.”
—Rink Dickinson, cofounder and copresident, and Rob Everts, copresident, Equal Exchange
“The founders of Ben & Jerry’s put up a long and determined fight to keep their dream of a socially responsible company intact. Cutthroat capitalism doesn’t make it easy for entrepreneurs who want living wages for their employees, environmentally sustainable ingredients, and socially beneficial business practices. Brad Edmondson gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of a company as beloved as the ice cream it makes.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times bestselling author and Founding Editor, Economic Hardship Reporting Project
“Ice Cream Social is a factory tour of the ups and downs and arounds of Ben & Jerry’s. We get an insider’s description of the struggle of two guys who strived through good times and bad to achieve their mission to make the world’s best ice cream, pursue social change, and treat both employees and shareholders fairly. Much of the time, they succeeded.”
—Madeleine M. Kunin, former governor of Vermont
“St. Albans Cooperative has been a proud partner of Ben & Jerry’s since the beginning. Through all of its organizational changes, it has remained committed to its core values, family dairy farms, and the cooperative. I am proud to be part of this story.”
—Ralph McNall, dairy farmer, St. Albans Cooperative Creamery
“When Calvert first heard about Ben & Jerry’s, we wondered whether our mission of social investing could even include a company that sold ice cream treats. This book shows how the founders convinced us. For decades, they have been a stellar example of walking the talk.”
—Wayne Silby, Founding Chair, Calvert Funds, and cofounder, Social Venture Network
“A fascinating business morality tale . . . Edmondson offers an entertaining and enlightening account of the highs and lows that can be encountered in the quest to give capitalism a soul.”
—Lynn A. Stout, Distinguished Professor of Corporate & Business Law, Cornell University Law School
The story of America’s happiest company is rife with sadness. Jeff Furman spent years with Ben & Jerry’s, from in-house counsel to chairman of the board, and author Edmonson relies heavily on Furman’s version of events and in fact started the book based on his idea, though the founders opted not to participate because it was too upsetting. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were interested in growing a socially responsible, activist company and made a big splash with their idea of “linked prosperity”—that as the company grew, the employees, suppliers, customers, and all other people and animals affected by the company should benefit. But activism and progressive values and practices couldn’t keep the company from running into common business woes. After years of dramatic leadership failures and difficulties, the company was sold to Unilever in 2000, to the great chagrin of the founders. They came out of the deal wealthier (Ben with $41 million, Jerry with $9.5 million) and the social mission survived, but both were emotionally distraught over the loss. Unfortunately, the wandering, uninspired book does the moving story no favors. Edmonson’s telling has no narrative drive, and as a history, it’s unfortunately dull. (Feb.)
For readers who want to know the truth behind the pints of Chubby Hubby and Phish Food, journalist and consultant Edmonson (founder, ePodunk.com) offers an in-depth history of the business side of Ben & Jerry's, founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978, including the ups and downs of running a successful company while remaining true to its original roots. While neither Ben nor Jerry agreed to be interviewed for the book, it includes material contributed by Jeff Furman, the current chairman of Ben & Jerry's board of directors. He wrote the company's original business plan back in 1977 (using a pizza shop template) and has stayed with the firm ever since. Furman was also instrumental in drafting its three-point mission statement: great ice cream, social purpose, and profit. How the company has maintained its progressive social focus, despite challenges and considerable pushback from Unilever (who bought out Ben & Jerry's in 2000), is a major focus of this work. VERDICT An engaging company chronicle, with an emphasis on the boardroom, not the scoop shop (although personal photos and fun facts such as key employees' favorite flavors are included). Recommended for business collections.—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH