Ben & Jerry's: Ben Cohen And Jerry Greenfield

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.8 • 31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2017

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the mid-1970s two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield decided to open an ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont. Their quirky little shop packaged and sold unusual flavors like Honey Coffee, Mocha Walnut, and Mint with Oreo Cookies. In 1981, the regional brand spread across the country after Time magazine called it the "best ice cream in America." Today, Ben & Jerry's is one of the top selling ice cream brands in the world. And, like the original founders, the company doesn't shy away from speaking out on social issues. PLUS for our postscript "How You Built That", how David Stover and his team at Bureo turn fishing nets into skateboards. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to how I built this early and ad-free on Amazon Music.
0:07.0	Download the app today.
0:09.0	New Year's is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.
0:13.0	As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.
0:17.0	So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.
0:24.0	Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.
0:31.0	Pillsbury had bought Hagendust, so they owned them, and they went to independent ice cream distributors, and you know, told them that if those distributors continued to deliver Ben and Jerry's that they wouldn't sell them Hagendust anymore.
0:50.0	You know, we recognized that Pillsbury was controlling the marketplace, and they were using their power to keep competitors out.
0:59.0	So what'd you do?
1:00.0	We took our case to the people.
1:04.0	We decided to go after the Pillsbury Doleboy, the most beloved food mascot in the country, the Pudgy Little Doleboy.
1:16.0	But this particular case, it was a matter of survival.
1:23.0	Brahman PR is how I built this, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
1:36.0	I'm Guy Ross, and on today's show, had two hippies named Ben and Jerry turn their small ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont, into one of the most iconic ice cream brands in the world.
1:49.0	I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that most people, at some point, have spent a quiet evening in front of the television with a spoon and a pint of, you know,
2:05.0	chunky monkey or cherry-garcy or New York super fudge chunker chocolate chip cookie dough.
2:11.0	Because there's something really comforting about a pint of Ben and Jerry's, even though it's full of sugar and saturated fat, it somehow feels okay.
2:21.0	You know what I mean?
2:22.0	Maybe it's the fair trade symbol on the front, or the wee buy from local Vermont dairy farmers on the side of the pint, or most likely seeing Ben and Jerry's photo on it.
2:33.0	Because you kind of know they're good guys, that their hearts in the right place.
2:38.0	And the thing is, all that peace and justice and love and equality stuff that Ben and Jerry's kind of tied together with their brand,
2:46.0	it's real, it wasn't a gimmick, it wasn't a strategy designed to attract customers because it's who they are.
	...

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