The Sweet Taste of Success: Ben & Jerry’s Takes Off
The Sweet Taste of Success: Ben & Jerry’s Takes Off
In all their years since graduating from high school, childhood pals Greenfield and Cohen never lost touch. They had often discussed starting a business together, but their dreams never managed to materialize. That is, until 1977, when the two again moved in together in Saratoga Springs, New York and decided to finally make something happen.
Both Greenfield and Cohen had an interest in the food business and after debating whether to focus on bagels or ice cream, they settled on ice cream as the product they would launch – the machinery for bagels was too expensive. Immediately, the pair began doing their industry research. They took a correspondence course in ice-cream making from Penn State University for a whopping $5, which convinced them they were on the right track.
After scouting a number of locations, Greenfield and Cohen decided to open their first store in Burlington, Vermont. Their first choice – Saratoga Springs – already had a popular ice cream parlor. Burlington was a student town, and couldn’t students, after all, always use a little bit of ice cream?
In May, 1978, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream Parlor opened up in what was previously an abandoned gas station that they had renovated using $8000 of their own money and $4000 borrowed. By creating unusual but tasty flavours – which was Greenfield’s job to manufacture – and sponsoring community festivals, word of the store quickly spread throughout the town. They soon hired additional employees, which gave Cohen and Greenfield time to travel across the country in their “Cowmobile”, serving free samples of their ice cream as part of their “cross-country marketing drive”. The Cowmobile caught fire in Cleveland and burned down, but the incident received much media attention and in the end, helped promote the duo’s venture.
By the end of 1984, Ben & Jerry’s had sales in excess of $4 million, double the figure from the previous year. By 1999, the company’s total revenue was $237. Through a strategy of engaging in social activism and corporate social responsibility and using all natural ingredients for their products, Ben & Jerry’s stood out in a highly competitive industry. In 2000, the company and its franchises were acquired by Unilever for $43.60 a share.
Today, though they are not involved with the company, both remain active with organizations that strive to create greater social responsibility among businesses.
The Sweet Taste of Success Ben Jerrys Takes Off
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In the early 1970s, both Greenfield and Cohen were at major crossroads in their lives; neither was satisfied with nor particularly inspired by their careers thus far. In 1974, Greenfield moved to North Carolina with his fiancée to take what he now calls his ‘first retirement’ – a much needed three month break that allowed time for reflection. That same year, Cohen moved to the Adirondack Mountain region of New York, where he worked as a craft teacher at a local school for emotionally disturbed youth. For three years, he worked on this 600 acre property, building his own house, teaching pottery and other art techniques, as well as making ice cream with the students.
In all their years since graduating from high school, childhood pals Greenfield and Cohen never lost touch. They had often discussed starting a business together, but their dreams never managed to materialize. That is, until 1977, when the two again moved in together in Saratoga Springs, New York and decided to finally make something happen.
Both Greenfield and Cohen had an interest in the food business and after debating whether to focus on bagels or ice cream, they settled on ice cream as the product they would launch – the machinery for bagels was too expensive. Immediately, the pair began doing their industry research. They took a correspondence course in ice-cream making from Penn State University for a whopping $5, which convinced them they were on the right track.
After scouting a number of locations, Greenfield and Cohen decided to open their first store in Burlington, Vermont. Their first choice – Saratoga Springs – already had a popular ice cream parlor. Burlington was a student town, and couldn’t students, after all, always use a little bit of ice cream?
In May, 1978, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream Parlor opened up in what was previously an abandoned gas station that they had renovated using $8000 of their own money and $4000 borrowed. By creating unusual but tasty flavours – which was Greenfield’s job to manufacture – and sponsoring community festivals, word of the store quickly spread throughout the town. They soon hired additional employees, which gave Cohen and Greenfield time to travel across the country in their “Cowmobile”, serving free samples of their ice cream as part of their “cross-country marketing drive”. The Cowmobile caught fire in Cleveland and burned down, but the incident received much media attention and in the end, helped promote the duo’s venture.
By the end of 1984, Ben & Jerry’s had sales in excess of $4 million, double the figure from the previous year. By 1999, the company’s total revenue was $237. Through a strategy of engaging in social activism and corporate social responsibility and using all natural ingredients for their products, Ben & Jerry’s stood out in a highly competitive industry. In 2000, the company and its franchises were acquired by Unilever for $43.60 a share.
Today, though they are not involved with the company, both remain active with organizations that strive to create greater social responsibility among businesses.
The Sweet Taste of Success Ben Jerrys Takes Off
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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