Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield Ice Cream

Ice cream is a sweet treat that few can resist. Although vanilla is the most popular flavor in the U.S., there are a seemingly endless number of varieties and manufacturers. One of the best-known purveyors is Ben & Jerry’s, the brand synonymous with funky flavors like Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey and a groovy Vermont vibe.

Background
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were childhood friends born four days apart in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951. You could say that ice cream runs in their veins. During his senior year of high school, Ben drove an ice cream truck. After high school, he attended and dropped out of various colleges in the Northeast, eventually leaving his studies altogether to teach pottery on a working farm in New York's Adirondack region, where he also dabbled in ice cream-making.

Jerry started on a more traditional path. After graduating high school, he attended Oberlin College to study medicine. Jerry worked as an ice cream scooper in the school’s cafeteria. Upon graduating, Jerry returned to New York to work as a lab technician, while applying to medical school without success. During his lab tech days, he shared a Manhattan apartment with Ben. After moving to North Carolina for a few years, Jerry reunited with Ben in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and they decided to go into the food business together.

At first the pair thought about making bagels but decided the necessary equipment was too expensive. Instead, they settled on ice cream. They decided Burlington, Vt., was an ideal location for a scoop shop because it was a college town without an ice cream parlor. They took a $5 course on ice-cream making and in 1978 opened the first Ben & Jerry’s in a converted Burlington gas station.

Growth
The original scoop shop became a community favorite thanks to its rich ice cream and creative flavors. Ben and Jerry also made it a point to connect with the community, hosting a free film festival and giving away free scoops on the first anniversary of the store, a tradition that still continues. In 1980, the duo began making pints to sell to local grocers. In 1981, they expanded this operation.

Business increased significantly. In 1983, the company opened its first non-Vermont franchise in Maine, and signed a deal with a Boston distribution company. Signature flavors were unveiled during the 1980s – including New York Super Fudge Chunk and Cherry Garcia – and by 1987 sales were at $32 million. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan named Ben and Jerry the U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year, and by the year’s end the company was operating shops in 18 states. (Daniel Richards - entrepreneurs)


See also : Sour Sally