Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream

Ben & Jerry's is a globally recognized premium ice cream brand that originated in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the brand is famous for its creative flavor names and high-density mix-ins, a style heavily influenced by Ben's anosmia (lack of sense of smell), which led him to prioritize texture and 'mouthfeel.' Chunky Monkey, featuring banana ice cream with chocolatey chunks and walnuts, remains one of their most iconic and enduring flavors.

Historically, the brand was acquired by the multinational conglomerate Unilever in 2000. However, in a major strategic shift completed in late 2025, Unilever spun off its entire ice cream division into a new, independent standalone company called The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC). This new entity, headquartered in the Netherlands and publicly traded in Amsterdam, London, and New York, now serves as the ultimate owner of Ben & Jerry's.

Manufacturing takes place across several dedicated facilities to serve different global regions. Primary production continues at the brand's historic roots in Vermont (Waterbury and Saint Albans) for North American markets, while the European market is primarily supplied by a large-scale production facility in Hellendoorn, Netherlands. This distributed manufacturing model ensures product freshness and aligns with the brand's logistics for international distribution.