Ben & Jerry’s first started in 1978 on the corner of St.Paul and College
streets in Burlington, Vermont. Ben and Jerry met in 1963 while in 7th grade gym
class. That was the start of their lifelong friendship and partnership in
business. Their first ice cream stand was an old renovated gas station in
downtown Burlington. Ben and Jerry started their corporation with a $12,000
investment. The outstanding taste of their ice cream, which comes from the fresh
Vermont milk and cream, would soon turn their $12,000 investment into a
multi-million dollar corporation. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. is a
Vermont (USA) corporation. “We make super premium ice cream, frozen yogurt,
and ice cream novelties in unique as well as traditional flavors; our products
are marketed through supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and food
service operations, as well as through licensed scoop shops, franchised scoop
shops, and company-owned scoop shops.” Ben & Jerry’s products are
distributed in all 50 states, and you’ll find over 120 Ben & Jerry’s
franchised scoop shops in 20 states (including Washington, D.C.).
Internationally, there are franchised scoop shops in Canada and licensed scoop
shops in Israel and the Netherlands. One of Ben & Jerry’s biggest
resources is its money. In 1997 their sales reached $174 million. Making
wonderful profits and revenue allows the company to give back to the community
to which it is a part of. When Ben and Jerry first started their company, they
started the concept of giving back to the community as a whole. This routine is
still regular and is planned to be for the future. In 1978, Ben and Jerry had
their first free summer movie festival, where they projected movies on the
outside wall of their scoop shop in Burlington. In 1984 they found out how they
could offer stock only to residents of Vermont, giving the people of Vermont a
chance to gain something from the company, and giving the Ben & Jerry’s
corporation money to build a new manufacturing plant in Waterbury Vermont. In
the following year Ben and Jerry set up the Ben & Jerry Foundation, which
would serve to fund community orientated events. The Ben & Jerry Foundation
was founded in 1985 with a donation of some stock in the Ben & Jerry’s
corporation. Every year the Board of Directors for the Ben & Jerry’s
Homemade Inc. provide the corporation with 7.5% of the company’s profits
before taxes. Most of these funds go to the corporation but a portion of the
funds goes to CAT teams. These are employee led Community Action Teams which
help small groups within Vermont by giving grants and helping with
organizations. All donations made by the Foundation to groups throughout the
country are made with the idea that the money will be used “…for creating
social change in any number of areas”. The following is a list of needs that a
program must follow in order to get funds from the Foundation: 1. Lead to
societal, institutional, and/or environmental change 2. Address the root causes
of social or environmental problems 3. Lead to new ways of thinking and acting
4. Help ameliorate an unjust or destructive situation by empowering constituents
5. Facilitate leadership development and strengthen the self-empowerment efforts
of those who have been disenfranchised in our society 6. Support movement
building and collective acting Along with these restrictions the foundation does
not support any of the following: 1. Emergency requests 2. Colleges or
Universities 3. Scholarship programs 4. Research projects 5. Capital campaigns
6. State agencies 7. Religious programs 8. International programs 9. Social
service programs In 1998 the 7.5% of the pre-tax profits that went to the
Foundation totaled $792,600. Starting in 1989, Ben & Jerry’s started what
I like to call their environmental campaign. It started off with the making of
Rainforest Crunch ice cream, which features special types of nuts that come from
rainforest trees. Part of the sales of Rainforest Crunch goes to the
preservation of the rainforest. The next step in Ben & Jerry’s
environmental campaign was in 1991 when they took their “Circus Bus” and
toured around the nation. Ben and Jerry took with them a whole array of talented
street performers and a message promoting solar energy. Solar energy panels on
the roof of the bus powered all of the electronics on the “Circus Bus”. In
the year of 1991, dairy product prices were getting to the point where the
farmers would not be able to make any kind of profit at all. Those farmers that
supplied milk and dairy products to Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., and
followed Ben & Jerry’s protest against the growth hormone BGH, received a
total of a half million dollars in dairy premiums to help the family farmers out
during hard times. The half million dollars prevented the family farms from
going out of business and also continued the supply of BGH free dairy products
to the company. The company continues to do all that it can to protect the
environment as well as the good of all human beings. All of the companies waste
products from the production of ice cream either goes to a local farm where pigs
feed on it, or it is sent to a huge compost pile and converted in useable soil
for many years. Technical issues dealing with the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade
Inc., are hard to come by due to the fact that the company keeps all of this
information to itself. While attending one of their tours at the main production
plant, I was able to attain a little information on the process, which the
company uses to produce the ice cream. In the main facility there is a huge
production floor where 75% of all the ice cream produced by Ben & Jerry’s
is made. The first step involves taking specific amounts of cream and milk along
with some types of sugar and other ingredients depending on the type of ice
cream that is to be produced. All of these ingredients are mixed together until
a milk shake type substance is made. This substance is then pumped into huge
6,000-gallon tanks where it is cooled for 24 hours. It is then pumped back into
the production room where any type of cookie or candy is placed into the ice
cream. From then on it becomes the basic task of having a conveyor belt where
the ice cream is packaged into one-pint containers. Beside the actual production
of the ice cream, there are the scientific tests on the ice cream to make sure
that it is of the highest quality. Ingredients are tested to make sure that
there is the correct distribution of ingredients throughout the entire pint. By
no means is this the complete technical report on how Ben & Jerry’s makes
their world class ice cream. I believe it is the fact that they don’t share
this information that they have been able to stay at the top of the ice cream
field. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc, is a successful business mainly due to
the fact that they have a Franchised Scoop Shop Program. To first determine
where a scoop shop shall be allowed to operate, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade
Inc. first looks for a specific market where a large customer base is available.
The selected market is compared to the physical and financial specifications
that the company wants to present when dealing with their customers. If the
Franchise site is not up to par with the standards that the company holds then
the franchise is not allowed to start up. “We are very particular about the
appearance and location of our scoop shops.” Ben & Jerry’s make the
process of finding new people to run franchises in target market area a long and
hard process. They only focus on a few new markets at a time when they are
planning for the future so they want to make sure that the correct market is
selected with the right people to run the franchise. Here is a list of
qualifications that one must have to be able to obtain a Ben & Jerry’s
franchise: 1. Applicant must be 18 years of age 2. Have very high standards for
community involvement and customer service 3. Applicants must meet the Ben &
Jerry’s operator profiles 4. Have very good credit 5. Provide good character
references 6. Document minimal net worth Ben & Jerry’s make the
qualifications for obtaining a site and operator for the franchises because they
want to keep their high standard of quality. A Ben & Jerry’s Partner Shop
is another way that the Ben & Jerry’s corporation is working to advance
the community. Ben & Jerry’s partner shops “put a profit-making business
to work with a non-profit organization to serve the communities in which they do
business.” The structure of the Partner shops is that the franchise fee is
waved and most of the businesses profits go to a not for profit organization.
The individual who is running the shop will get enough money so that he/she will
be able to live, but the big focus is on the non-profit organization. The
Partner shops also act as a job training facility for those individuals who need
specific job training. Most of the jobs go to those people who have found it
hard to build the skills that are needed in the work place. A big part of Ben
& Jerry’s success, is how well there management is run and operated. Ben
& Jerry’s has many scoop shops, franchised scoop shops, Company-owned
scoop shops, and manufacturing facilities that need managers to organize
production, operations, and any many other duties. There are many important
management positions that Ben & Jerry’s needs filled daily. Below are the
names of the management positions and a little summary of what the functions of
the particular type of manager must project for the corporation. Retail
Operations Manager- This manager makes goals and objectives for long-term
operations development. Also this manager must be able to connect with
competitors in the location, and make a successful retail operations by
evaluating other companies in the area. They must oversee the design and
developments of new shop real estate property, locations, and construction
operations. Brand Scooping Licensing Manager- This manager works with other
managers (sales and retail operations) to produce long and short- term
objectives for expanding the licensed Scoop Station concept. They must also
manage the qualifications of potential licensees and the constant relationship
with present licensees. International Product Manager: Asia- This manger
oversees the marketing of products throughout Asia with emphasis on the strong
Japanese market. This manager works together with present regional management,
Japanese management, and other local markets to achieve market share, sales, and
profit targets. (Ben & Jerry’s have been very successful with these profit
markets.) Merchandising Development Manager- This manager has big
responsibilities with ensuring that all products that are non-food are properly
meeting guidelines for the financial, social mission and marketing goals. These
products are sold in Ben & Jerry’s gift shops, catalogs, and on the
Internet. This manager must also oversee new product line development and
purchasing. Safety Manager- This manager is responsible for the safety of all
employees while at work in the manufacturing facilities. Also for the public
while they are at the shops, and festivals that take place on certain dates of
the year. They must design, develop and direct management systems that will
identify, evaluate, measure, and control people injury. They must ensure that
safety is at high levels to accommodate within areas of manufacturing safety,
fleet safety, retail safety, and public liability at the festivals. Plant
Engineering/ Maintenance Manager- This manger is responsible for the direction
and management of the engineering and maintenance functions of the plant. They
must ensure that all machinery is working properly and that they are working
efficiently and safely. This manager must also work with the production staff to
create new procedures that improve overall production. Plant Manager-This
management position was added to the Ben & Jerry’s job list recently. This
manager will devise a manufacturing plant that will maximize production,
minimize costs and maintain quality. They must report to the Director of
Manufacturing regularly to contribute to the improvement of manufacturing
policies. Also they must establish goals that they can ensure, and measures they
can meet successfully. Business Sales Development Manger- This person must
design, recommend and implement product brand strategies. They must also
coordinate program planning with the Sales manager and customers to ensure
maximum sales volume is achieved. They must also travel to observe other shops
and make sure they are operating properly and successfully to ensure customer
satisfaction. Regional Sales Manager-This manager oversees Ben & Jerry’s
sales activities in certain states that they are assigned to. For example a
regional sales manager will be based in Atlanta, GA, but will oversee Tennessee,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The responsibilities are endless because of
such a wide region, but for a summary, they carry out duties such as developing
a strong relationship with distributors, buyers, district managers and chain
store personnel. They must also develop and manage promotional budgets for the
region and advise distributors and clients concerning sales and advertising
techniques. As you can see, there are many management positions that must be
successful in order for the whole process of the corporation to work together
and be a success. Management is the most important part of making a business
work. You must have strong willed, responsible, successful, personable, and
open-minded managers that will conduct their area of management in a positive
way, and that will leave a lasting impression. As many businesses, Ben &
Jerry’s has a Mission Statement that they strive to make true everyday. The
statement is as follows: “Ben & Jerry’s is dedicated to the creation
& demonstration of a new corporate concept of linked prosperity. Our mission
consists of three interrelated parts: To make, distribute and sell the finest
quality all natural ice cream and related products in a wide variety of
innovative flavors made from Vermont dairy products. To operate the Company on a
sound financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our
shareholders, and creating career opportunities and financial rewards for our
employees. To operate the Company in a way that actively recognizes the central
role that business plays in the structure of society by initiating innovative
ways to improve the quality of life of a broad community- local, national, and
international. Underlying the mission of Ben & Jerry’s is the
determination to seek new & creative ways of addressing all three parts,
while holding a deep respect for individuals inside and outside the Company and
for the communities of which they are a part.” Something exciting that is
coming to stores in the world of ice cream is new Ben & Jerry's Eco-pints.
These pints are environmentally friendly because they are unbleached paper
cartons! These cartons will be much more environmentally safe because the
“bleaching paper which chlorine is one of the largest causes of toxic water
pollution in the United States.” Ben & Jerry’s not only strive to make
scrumptious ice cream, but also safe ice cream. By excluding Dioxin which is the
chemical know to cause cancer, the Eco-pints are very safe. As Jason traveled to
a town extremely close to his own, Waterbury, Vermont, he was able to experience
the tour of the factory. The tour started out with an eight minute movie of how
Ben & Jerry’s originated, and then you walk through the factory and see
the Production Room, and are explained about the machines. Then you are taken to
the Flavor Room for a free sample. No photography is allowed, so he was unable
to bring back photographs of the factory. The tour in total is about 30 minutes
long in total. The following chart, is the increase in sales every 2 years. The
business started in 1984 and the recorded financial year that I found was 1997.
The numbers are in millions of dollars on the left-hand side of the chart. 1984:
Sales exceed 4 million dollars, 120% increase 1986: Sales exceed 20 million
dollars, 100% growth rate 1988: Sales exceed 47 million dollars, 49% increase
1990: Sales exceed 77 million dollars, 32% increase 1992: Sales exceed 132
million dollars, 36% increase 1994: Sales exceed 149 million dollars, 1.9
million net losses 1996: Sales exceed 167 million dollars, 8% increase 1997:
Sales exceed 174 million dollars, 4% increase In conclusion of our Ben &
Jerry’s field study report, we have provided all research information which
was located at www.benjerry.com . Hopefully we have included all necessary facts
to create an overview of many aspects of Ben & Jerry’s, Inc. Through
research on the Internet, and Jason traveling to Vermont, we broadened our
horizons of how a corporation is operated to be a success.