Turning failure into success
SLIPPERY ROCK — Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's fame told Slippery Rock University students Tuesday night that starting the business wasn't always sweet like the ice cream that bears his name.
The school's University Program Board brought him to campus to share his story to a sold-out audience of more than 500 people ahead of Earth Day, April 22. Ben & Jerry's has been known for its innovative values-based business model and sustainability practices.
The now $300 million freezer aisle staple began as a Vermont-based ice cream shop in 1978 with a $4,000 bank loan and $8,000 combined savings between Greenfield and co-founder Ben Cohen.
The duo, who had known one another since junior high, had a series of hardships before deciding to go into the homemade ice cream business. Cohen had dropped out of several colleges, while Greenfield had been rejected from more than a dozen medical schools.
“We were essentially failing at everything we were trying to do,” Greenfield said. “And we thought, why don't we try to get together to do something that's fun, be our own bosses? Since we always liked to eat quite a bit, we thought we'd do something with food. We just picked homemade ice cream. (We) didn't know anything about it, and took a $5 correspondence course from Penn State University.”
They realized quickly that business was slow in the Vermont winter, so they began marketing their product to local restaurants. When the ice cream shop opened, it did not have the dozens of complex flavors it now sells. Instead, there were four flavors: Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee. Later, they began marketing the ice cream to grocery stores in pint-sized containers.
“That's how Ben & Jerry's stumbled into the ice cream manufacturing business,” said Greenfield, whose favorite current flavor is AmeriCone Dream.
He told the SRU students of the initial struggle to distribute nationally because of ice cream competitor Haagen-Dazs, and later, how the company evolved into being mission driven.People were able to directly buy shares in the company for a time, in Vermont and later, nationally. They began to give much of their profit to charity.“We felt like our business was just becoming like any other business, just becoming another cog in the economic machine. And we didn't really want any part of that,” he said.“So we decided to see if there was a way to integrate social and environmental concerns into the normal, day-to-day business activities, so that simply by doing our normal business, we're helping to bring about a better world.”The once independent company was bought by major business conglomerate Unilever in 2000. Cohen and Greenfield still work at the company, but not in management or operations.SRU freshman Hailey Bigley, a psychology major whose favorite flavor is Half Baked, said she wasn't aware of the ice cream giant's humble beginnings.“I thought it would be interesting to hear how it got started,” she said. “I didn't know they were such a humane company and gave back to the community.”Junior Alex Wenrich, a sport management major whose favorite flavor is Peanut Butter Core, is director of speakers for the University Program Board.He said it's important for students to learn stories of successful entrepreneurs who define the American dream.“Education is key, for sure,” Wenrich said. “His story reflects what we've learned,” having taken business and supply chain courses.Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and AmeriCone Dream were available for students after the event, scooping up ideas of hope and innovation one bowl at a time.
