Stopping by the local ice cream shop for a cone doesn't involve deep thought. There are requisite decisions over flavor and serving size but otherwise? Not too complicated.
When Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen came onto the ice cream scene in the 70's, however, ice cream eating habits changed. All of a sudden people were ordering up flavors with quirky names: Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia and Economic Crunch.
And with each serving came information on important global issues: Brazil's declining rainforests, sustainable agriculture or global warming.
Ben & Jerry brought a whole lot more to the ice cream market than catchy names and natural ingredients; they raised social consciousness and influenced consumer awareness in a way that is now synonymous with their brand worldwide.
Friends from high school, Cohen and Greenfield started their mission by enrolling in a $5 ice-cream making correspondence course at Pennsylvania State University. Later the same year they founded their company out of a renovated Vermont petrol station using a $12,000 investment, a quarter of which was borrowed on goodwill.
They began doing business without a hitch and then experienced major difficulties when the Haagen-Dazs brand attempted to elbow them out of the market by pushing independent distributors to choose: Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's.
Greenfield and Cohen filed suit while simultaneously launching a major publicity campaign aimed against Haagen-Dazs' bully policy. Ben & Jerry's won the suit and settled out of court and their ice cream business expanded rapidly and grew tremendously due to the publicity.
While expanding they took time out to accept U.S. president Ronald Reagan's "U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year" award in 1988. The award was granted in part for their continued use of natural ingredients and for raising consumer awareness around global concerns.
Cream comes from Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH)-free cows, pint containers are made of recycled bleach-free paper and currently the company is supporting research into thermo-acoustic refrigeration techniques to minimize negative environmental impact from ozone-depleting refrigerants.
Central to Ben & Jerry's mission are three interconnected components:
1) A mission to make, distribute and sell the finest quality all natural ice cream incorporating business practices that sustain the environment and earth.
2) An economic goal of profitable growth to increase value for stakeholders and expand career opportunities for employees and
3) A social mission to actively recognize the central role business plays in society by initiating ways of improving local, national and international quality of life.
To achieve these goals, Ben & Jerry created a foundation in 1985 to channel grant monies towards social change-minded grassroots organizations.
They also stand as an example to major corporations for recycle practices used in company plastics and cardboard disposal, for contributing to a campaign for cleaning up fuel, setting up a solar aquatics system in their Vermont manufacturing headquarters and donating leftover ice cream to local pig farmers.
"I think that business is the most powerful force in the country," Cohen said in an interview to MSNBC. "When business starts using its voice for the benefit of the country as a whole, not just in its narrow self interest, it can really be the force that can make the changes that need to be made."
On a global scale, Ben & Jerry's have wielded that influence in joining forces with the World Wildlife Fund to open a Climate Change College and most recently by launching the "American Pie" campaign designed to persuade consumers to demand a change in American government spending priorities.
The campaign goal is to shift $13 billion that now pays to maintain thousands of nuclear bombs into pediatric health insurance, schools or other programs for kids.
Launched with the release of American Pie ice cream - made with diced apples and pie crust pieces - Cohen and Greenfield toured U.S. states spreading their personal message to motivate Americans towards appealing to the government for a policy shift.
"Do you really need 10,000 nuclear bombs?" Greenfield asked in a telephone interview from Washington with MSNBC. "How many nuclear bombs are you going to send anywhere? Five? 10?"
Despite being in the business for years, Ben & Jerry's continues to grow and expand. In 2005, domestic sales increased by nearly 13%, the franchise network opened 96 new stores and international sales achieved a 22% growth rate.
CEO Walt Freese attributes success not only to quality product but also to a strong social mission.
In 2005 alone, more than half of company ingredients and raw materials were purchased from family farmers and Fair Trade certified coffee producers, brand power was used to draw national attention to preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, fighting global warming and supporting family farms, manufacturing plants improved efficiency and reduced waste and relationships with groups working for sustainable communities, environmental health, and economic and social justice were fostered.
"I firmly believe the growth of our company is directly connected to our Social Mission," Freese wrote in the company's 2005 Social & Environmental Assessment Report.
"I am reminded of something company co-founder Ben Cohen once said to me: ‘Some people believe that Ben & Jerry's has been successful in spite of its strong stand on social and environmental issues. The truth is that it has stood out precisely because it stands for something different in the world!'"