Entrepreneurial Survival Stories

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield

Fighting the big guys
The brink: Ben & Jerry鈥檚 almost got eaten up in 1984 when Haagen-Dazs鈥� parent company, Pillsbury, threatened to pull its ice cream from distributors if they didn鈥檛 drop Ben & Jerry鈥檚. When Cohen inquired about representation with a law firm, he was told it would cost at least $50,000--but Ben & Jerry鈥檚 had only earned $7,000 more than that in net income the previous year.
The gutsy move that brought them back: The partners launched the 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the Doughboy Afraid Of?鈥� campaign, distributing write-in kits containing letters of protest to the FTC and the chairman of the board at Pillsbury. On March 6, 1985, Pillsbury agreed it would not try to coerce distributors to drop Ben & Jerry鈥檚. In April of 2000, Ben & Jerry鈥檚 was acquired by food manufacturer Unilever for $326 million.
Lesson learned: Turn a company crisis into a creative marketing opportunity.

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