Ben & Jerry's: Ben Cohen And Jerry Greenfield (2017)

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Guy Raz | Wondery

Business

4.8 • 31.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2020

⏱️ 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," we check back with Clay McCabe of Zipper Rescue, a repair kit that helps people fix their broken zippers at home. 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 years 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.
0:27.0	Hey everyone, it's Sky here, so I hope you're doing well given the circumstances.
0:32.0	Like many of you, our team is working remotely at the moment, and we're all working really hard to produce some fresh episodes for you.
0:39.0	It's a little challenging, but they are going to be coming your way really soon.
0:43.0	Anyway, this week we wanted to go deep into the how I built this archive to find a story that would bring all of us a little levity and comfort and joy.
0:52.0	And I think you will agree we found the story.
0:55.0	Oh, and just a quick warning, this episode does contain some salty language.
1:00.0	Pillsbury had bought Hagendoss, so they owned them, and they went to independent ice cream distributors, and told them that if those distributors continued to deliver Ben and Jerry's that they wouldn't sell them Hagendoss anymore.
1:21.0	You know, we recognized that Pillsbury was using their power to keep competitors out.
1:27.0	So what'd you do?
1:28.0	We took our case to the people.
1:32.0	We decided to go after the Pillsbury Doe Boy, the most beloved food mascot in the country, the Pudgey Little Doe Boy.
1:44.0	But this particular case, it was a matter of survival.
1:48.0	From NPR, it's how I built this, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
2:03.0	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.
2:18.0	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 bowl of bread.
2:32.0	A spoon and a pint of, you know, chunky monkey or cherry garciote or New York Super Fudge chunk or chocolate chip cookie dough.
	...

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