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Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., the Vermont-based manufacturer of ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, was founded in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, by childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, with a $12,000 investment ($4,000 of which was borrowed). They soon became popular for their innovative flavors, made from fresh Vermont milk and cream. The company currently distributes ice cream, low fat ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet and novelty products nationwide as well as in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchised Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops, restaurants and other venues. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield sold the company in April of 2000 to Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch corporation. The two men make a contract with the purchasing company that still gives them some control over the company in order to make sure that their mission statement(s) are fulfilled. In the agreement between Ben & Jerry's and Unilever, Unilever affirmed Ben & Jerry's commitment to philanthropy, to the employee-led manner in which these funds are distributed, and to the company's long-held progressive values. The merger agreement allowed for the following: an annual contribution of $1.1million (floor amount, to be adjusted based on annual sales and inflation) to be maintained for ten years. a one-time gift of $5million to a new Social Venture Fund run by Ben & Jerry's co-founder, Ben Cohen.
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