The Reporter

THE EPORTER Vol. CXXIII Issue 6 Stetson University DeLand, Fla. EN&JERRY come to Stetson * 3D.. mi?\EMF xn (Y*) ■ ■ , !...■■.. . US. (mmneAm ssMa\ Ben and Jerry Photo courtesy Patrick Sheridan Student Patrick Sheridan meets the men of the hour after their lecture in the Stetson Room Oct. 1. You may not recognize them on the street, but they're two of America's most beloved household names: Ben and Jerry. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield aren't just the two heads on the carton of their ice cream pints: They started a successful, international food brand that not has sold millions of ice cream pints and cones over the course of almost 40 years, but has a social and political mission that has shaped the company's goals. Ben and Jerry are quick to give anyone a hug rather than shake their hand, and Stetson certainly embraced Ben and Jerry. Around 500 students flooded the Stetson Room on the evening of Oct. 1, with a line pouring out all the way past the Coffee Shop just to get in, even long after the advertised free ice cream samples had run out. It was clear that these students weren't there for Ben & Jerry's, they were there for Ben and Jerry. The two ice-cream kings told the story of how they "stumbled" into their ice-cream business, which began with a $5 correspondence course and soon became a national — and eventually, international — phenomenon. They also spoke about their company's politics (as well as the general importance of political involvement), and the political and social mission that has separated Ben and Jerry's from many other ice-cream makers over the years. Sarah Dean Editor-in-Chief I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak with Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's one-on-one before their talk. It was the first professional interview I've ever conducted where the subjects greeted me with big smiles and big hugs. Both were happy to answer anything I asked — and also asked me a few things about myself. Sarah Dean: I heard that you met in childhood, could you tell me a little about that? Ben Cohen: We met in gym class. We were the two slowest, fattest kids in the class. There would be the whole class running around the track, and half a lap behind was me and Jerry, so you make pretty good friends with whoever you can find at the back of the back. It's lonely at the back of the back. SD: When did you make that transition from being just pals to being business partners? Ben: Well, after we were both failing at what we were trying to do — I was trying to be a potter and nobody would buy my pottery; Jerry was trying to be a doctor and he couldn't get into medical school — we realized that we were failures. And we thought our only chance for success in the world would be to start our own business. SD: What are some of the challenges you faced when you decided to get out there and start your own business? Jerry Greenfield: Well, I think not having any idea what we were doing was a challenge. Not having very much money was a challenge. Selling ice cream in a town that had a very cold climate was a challenge .[laughs] But you know, there's always chal lenges with any sort of venture, particularly with a startup. And I think the key is how you respond to those challenges, 'cause stuffs always gonna go wrong. Ben: Trying to maintain portion control was a challenge! [laughs] SD: I know all about that! What made you decide to get into ice cream? As you said, it was a pretty cold climate up there in the Northeast. Ben: Well, our original idea was to start a restaurant. And the only guy we knew who knew anything about business said "Whatever you do, don't start a restaurant!" because, you know, there's all this food waste, you're open all these hours, and you got all these employees.. . .he said if it has to be food, make it a limited menu, a very limited menu. And the two things — we wanted to live in a rural college town. So we thought that we would take a food trend that was starting in the big cities and take it to a college town. The two things that were just starting up at the time were bagels and homemade ice cream. Our first idea was actually to do bagels, and then we went to a used-restaurant-equipment place, and found out that the equipment to open a bagel place was too expensive. And so we figured ice cream had to be cheaper, and that's how we ended up doing ice cream. SD: That's so interesting. Are you guys both still active in the company today, or have you taken a step back? Jerry: We've taken a lot of steps back— this is really good, by the way [commenting on the shrimp]. So, Ben and I work at the company. We're employees, but we're not involved in the management or operations. Ben & Jerry's got sold about 15 years ago to this larger company called Unilever. And so since then, we haven't been involved in the Please see Ben & Jerry, Page 4 ; Important \ campus construction. updates Theater season opens with I : ■ Laughter.: