"Welcome to the resistance. Together, Pecan Resist!” reads the label on Ben and Jerry’s newest flavor; “We honor & stand with women, immigrants, people of color, & the millions of activists and allies who are courageously resisting the President's attack on our values, humanity & environment. We celebrate the diversity of our glorious nation & raise our spoons in solidarity for all Americans.”
This release made a bold statement just one week before tomorrow’s midterm elections, which some are calling the most important elections of our time. Reactions on social media after Ben and Jerry’s announcement were strongly opinionated and polarized, as is most present political discourse. Interestingly, replies to the company’s livestream announcing the flavor were split equally; #resist and #boycottbenadnjerrys were the top two hashtags in response tweets. Conservative voices immediately called for a boycott of the company. One twitter user asserted, “People don't like having political agendas shoved down their throat.” In the five days since the release, Ben and Jerry’s stock is up 4.74%, suggesting that the polarizing move may ultimately lead to better profits.
Ben and Jerry’s, a self-named aspiring social justice company, is used to controversy at this point. The company has leaned into a strong progressive identity since founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started churning ice cream in 1978. Recent politically-minded flavors include EmpowerMINT, released in 2016 to draw attention to claims of voter suppression in North Carolina and I Dough, I Dough, a temporary name change to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to celebrate the passage of marriage equality, The past two years of the Trump presidency have lead to many statements from other food producers about political and social issues, raising the question: Is it good business to get political?
After President Trump announced his travel ban in 2017, Starbucks’ Howard Shultz released a letter to company partners announcing a renewed commitment to hire 10,000 refugees over five years. Despite blowback, Starbucks is another brand comfortable with making a political statement, and often in open conflict with the Trump administration. They reported their strongest holiday earnings ever in the first quarter of 2016, even in the face of a Trump-approved boycott over the company’s controversial minimalist red cups.
Of course, the coffee mega-chain has the capability to withstand negative PR from political controversy, but studies suggest strong statements such as Shultz’s hiring commitment are actually a boon for business. According to the Harvard Business Review, 38% of Americans believe CEOs have a responsibility to speak out on hot-button issues related to their brand. It is still a risky move for companies to take a strong stand; the same study cites 40% of Americans would be more likely to buy from a company they know is aligned with their values, but 45% said they would be turned off from purchasing from a company with which they disagree. So, before companies take a political stance, it is important to know the opinions of their key customer base.
Yuengling, the Philadelphia-based beer company, faced strong opposition after CEO Dick Yuengling endorsed Trump during the 2016 campaign. There were many reports of a widespread boycott, but the company just expanded earlier this year to its 22nd state. Yuengling told Philadelphia-based website Billy Penn that the drop in sales from the boycott was “nothing noticeable.”
While making a strong political statement may cause public outcry and boycotts in the short term, it doesn’t look like there is cause to worry for businesses wanting to get political. If anything, these statements lead to increased press and build a value-based following, which makes good business sense in the long term. As long as leaders have a good handle on who their customer is, they can safely speak out without worrying about the bottom line.
correction: A previous version of this article mentioned Bernie’s Yearning as a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor. It was made by Ben Cohen as an individual, and the Ben and Jerry's company was not involved in its creation.
