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One of the co-founders of the famous frozen dessert company Ben & Jerry's has announced that parent company Unilever stopped the introduction of an innovative pro-Palestinian ice cream flavor.

Ben Cohen, that co-founded the business alongside Jerry Greenfield, disclosed how he will personally create this new flavor within a personal collection showcasing causes Ben & Jerry's was prevented from addressing publicly.

Longstanding Conflict Involving Creators versus Corporate Owner

The recent development intensifies the ongoing conflict among the world-famous ice cream maker with Unilever, the UK-based packaged goods giant which acquired the ice cream brand since 2000.

Both founders have claimed that Unilever along with its ice cream arm the Magnum brand improperly prevented their company against "honouring its social mission".

The Fruit Sorbet as an Emblem for Solidarity

Mr. Cohen announced through an Instagram video how he is creating a new watermelon-flavored sorbet, asking for consumer ideas regarding the product's name and additional components.

“I'm doing what they were prevented from doing,” Mr. Cohen stated in a cooking set. “I'm making a watermelon-flavored frozen dessert that advocates for lasting ceasefire in Palestine and calls for repairing the damage that occurred in the region.”

This particular fruit has emerged as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people because of its colors, that match the colors in Palestine's national banner – red, green, black and white.

Previous Activism and Current Developments

Several years ago, Ben & Jerry's ceased sales of its products in territories occupied by Israel, resulting in Unilever selling their Israel business over to an Israeli distributor, thus allowing ongoing distribution within disputed territories.

The new dessert series will be developed under Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the activist ice cream brand which was first created in 2016 for endorsing ex- US presidential candidate Senator Sanders via the product "Bernie's Return".

Leadership Changes plus Future Plans

Mr. Cohen indicated how he plans to develop other ice cream flavors that address concerns which the company was prevented from speaking about openly by Unilever.

This development follows partner Jerry Greenfield stepped down from Ben & Jerry's recently, after many years of involvement, citing worries regarding how its independence had been compromised following corporate moves to restrict its social activism.

Previously, Mr. Cohen remarked that “My partner has strong compassion and this conflict with our parent company was breaking it."

"My heart compels me to continue to work inside the company to advocate for corporate autonomy so that the company can fulfill the social mission, the principles that it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years," he explained to media outlets.

• Parent company limitations on political advocacy
• Independent product development from original creators
• Watermelon flavor as social statement
• Ongoing disagreements among corporate ownership and ethical values