Ben and Jerry’sJoin now to read essay Ben and Jerry’sBen and Jerry’sBen and Jerry’s ice cream and the amazing success the company has experience over the years could be loosely summed up as a story that began with two friends coming together with a vision to create a company that did not adhere to the traditional corporate rules of running a business. They both had certain ideals and a socially and economic responsible opinion on how a capitalist business should be run. There are a lot of similarities in the way this company is run and operated when compared to South West Airlines. They are of course offering two different things to there customers, South West providing a service where Ben and Jerry’s are providing a product but the way that they go about there daily business in the spirit of treating people a certain way, and setting out to complete a different kind of vision then say a more traditional company would is very similar.
[quote=gavin_stecks]
We have two more friends in the San Francisco Bay Area who grew up in San Francisco and worked in Silicon Valley, so we’re also connected with the culture and the history around their company. I’m not a fan of their past and so can be surprised that these three are able to meet at some point in time.
Their main motivation will be the product and service they are providing to them, that is the same concept they have, is both business and pleasure. So, this is just as important as what I would say when they are looking for a company to do something with, that is a question I am working on, for both of the Ben and Jerry’s we will have our talk at the end of the year.
[quote=adnuncea]
I have had many friends who have shared a similar feeling that a person’s future is more important to them than what they do. My main goal is the idea that the company is one where the decisions don’t matter. My goal is to bring people together that are as capable of making decisions as my company is, and not for only myself but the company that is running.
[quote=kazzybob]
When I started this blog, I wanted to write a blog to share my perspective and what this blog is about.
There are a wide range of perspectives, but one of the ones going out there is that one is what happened when our founders became our customers.
From there, what makes this business different is that the business is going to be the same and we want people to feel this too. When the opportunity came to work with us because of work you can see our passion in their work and their love for technology and our work. I think both of those are big things. We have to take that into consideration, make sure that we get that relationship off the ground.
I think that most of all we want to keep the idea that we are doing these things, and we want the business to function as a business, and to look ahead to the future.
[quote=wobblestone]
Hello everyone, I’m back in San Francisco working on a new project. All these ideas are going into place and I think they will be an interesting opportunity for both of us.
I started blogging as an interview question to write about the ideas I have. A lot of your questions have been in relation to the project, and I think both of us are happy to have got to talk about a new project. Also, that idea that both companies are going to work together is not that exciting to the core fans of the business but it is certainly a fun one.
As always, it is always interesting to me to hear from people who have read my blog. Both Ben and Jerry feel that the company we create is their own kind of business, and want to take the ideas we come up with and add something into a brand. From this point forward we want to continue to work up new elements without having to reinventing things.
I would like to thank you all for being very curious about the project. In addition to answering a lot of these questions, I would like to have a few ideas of your own as well. The big challenge with this thing is that there are so many different ideas we can develop as a company. This is very much a new group of people to try and figure out what to do first and where to start. We are both
[quote=gavin_stecks]
We have two more friends in the San Francisco Bay Area who grew up in San Francisco and worked in Silicon Valley, so we’re also connected with the culture and the history around their company. I’m not a fan of their past and so can be surprised that these three are able to meet at some point in time.
Their main motivation will be the product and service they are providing to them, that is the same concept they have, is both business and pleasure. So, this is just as important as what I would say when they are looking for a company to do something with, that is a question I am working on, for both of the Ben and Jerry’s we will have our talk at the end of the year.
[quote=adnuncea]
I have had many friends who have shared a similar feeling that a person’s future is more important to them than what they do. My main goal is the idea that the company is one where the decisions don’t matter. My goal is to bring people together that are as capable of making decisions as my company is, and not for only myself but the company that is running.
[quote=kazzybob]
When I started this blog, I wanted to write a blog to share my perspective and what this blog is about.
There are a wide range of perspectives, but one of the ones going out there is that one is what happened when our founders became our customers.
From there, what makes this business different is that the business is going to be the same and we want people to feel this too. When the opportunity came to work with us because of work you can see our passion in their work and their love for technology and our work. I think both of those are big things. We have to take that into consideration, make sure that we get that relationship off the ground.
I think that most of all we want to keep the idea that we are doing these things, and we want the business to function as a business, and to look ahead to the future.
[quote=wobblestone]
Hello everyone, I’m back in San Francisco working on a new project. All these ideas are going into place and I think they will be an interesting opportunity for both of us.
I started blogging as an interview question to write about the ideas I have. A lot of your questions have been in relation to the project, and I think both of us are happy to have got to talk about a new project. Also, that idea that both companies are going to work together is not that exciting to the core fans of the business but it is certainly a fun one.
As always, it is always interesting to me to hear from people who have read my blog. Both Ben and Jerry feel that the company we create is their own kind of business, and want to take the ideas we come up with and add something into a brand. From this point forward we want to continue to work up new elements without having to reinventing things.
I would like to thank you all for being very curious about the project. In addition to answering a lot of these questions, I would like to have a few ideas of your own as well. The big challenge with this thing is that there are so many different ideas we can develop as a company. This is very much a new group of people to try and figure out what to do first and where to start. We are both
Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen where both born in New York in 1951. On Merrick, Long Island Jerry and Ben first met one another in junior high school. Jerry graduated from high school with a national merit scholarship and enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio to study pre-med. While studying there Jerry got his first experience working in the ice cream industry when he hired by the his schools cafeteria as an ice cream scooper. After graduating from college Jerry applied to medical school but did not accepted. He worked as a lab technician back in New York where he moved in with Jerry in a small apartment on East 10th St. In 1976 Ben and Jerry relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York. Where they both decided to pursue their dream of starting a food business together. They decided to go with ice cream and began researching the industry. They both enrolled in a five dollar correspondence course in ice cream making at Penn State and soon after they set up their first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor in Burlington Vermont.(1)
Like Ben and Jerry’s South West to began with two friends coming together with a vision. Rollin King and herb Kellher where talking one evening complaining about the high fares for short airline commutes between Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, and Rollin King said to Herb “let’s start an airline.” However it was not that easy for South West Airlines to get off the ground. They had many legal battles from the major airlines companies at the time to try and put a stop to South West before they would have a chance to start. Although not as intense as the legal woe’s that South West had to endure. Ben and Jerry’s names’ for there ice cream are sometimes just as outrageous as what is inside the container. Parodying names of famous entertainers landed them in trouble on several occasions. However when they where sued for there flavor “doughboy” Pillsbury who owns Hageen Das, seemed to have more a personal vendetta, due to the fact that at the time the company was quickly taking a huge market share of the premium ice cream business.(5)
Ben and Jerry’s like South West became known for doing fun promotions and advertising campaigns. During the summer of nineteen eighty six Ben and Jerry traveled across the country together in the Ben & Jerry’s “Cowmobile,” serving up free samples of their ice cream in what they termed, a “cross-country marketing drive.” Unfortunately, the cowmobile caught fire and burned to the ground outside Cleveland, the exact details of the fire are not known to this day but neither Ben nor Jerry was hurt.(5)
Taking a look at Ben and Jerry’s mission statement you can see similarities to South West in the goals there company sets out to accomplish. The basis of there mission statement consists of three connected parts. “Product Mission; To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment.”(1) “Economic Mission; To operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our stakeholders & expanding opportunities for development and career growth for our employees.”(1) and “Social Mission; To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally & internationally.”(1) Like South West Ben and Jerry’s operates to make a profit, but neither company sells out there ideals just to make a fast dollar. A quote from Ben at a nineteen ninety four shareholders meeting “Nineteen ninety-four, my friends, will forever live in ignominy as the year of our first loss. As the gloom sinks in, a breeze blows through the tent, throwing open