A conversation with Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s

From humble origins in Burlington, Vermont, in the late 1970s to its current status as one of the most popular global ice cream brands, Ben & Jerry's ice cream is an example of the American Dream at work.

Two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, take a correspondence course on ice cream-making, craft some creative flavor variations, open a small ice cream shop in a renovated garage, expand as success allows, designate a significant amount of profit to various causes and charities and eventually sell the company for hundreds of millions of dollars. As a condition of sale, both Ben & Jerry maintained positions on the board of directors while insisting that the new owners (Unilever) would continue funneling a percentage of profit to the Ben & Jerry's Foundation.