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The co-founders of the well-known frozen dessert company Ben & Jerry's has claimed how parent company the multinational conglomerate blocked the introduction for an innovative Palestine-themed ice cream flavor.

Ben Cohen, who established the company alongside Jerry Greenfield, announced how he will independently develop this new product within a personal collection highlighting issues the company was barred from addressing publicly.

Longstanding Conflict Between Creators versus Parent Company

This latest announcement escalates the continuing conflict between the internationally recognized ice cream maker with Unilever, the UK-based packaged goods giant that acquired Ben & Jerry's for over two decades.

Both founders have asserted how the parent company along with their ice cream division the Magnum brand unlawfully blocked Ben & Jerry's against "fulfilling its ethical commitments".

The Fruit Sorbet becoming a Symbol for Support

The entrepreneur announced via an Instagram video how he is creating an innovative watermelon-based frozen dessert, asking for public suggestions regarding the product's name and additional components.

“I'm doing what they were prevented from doing,” Mr. Cohen commented from a cooking set. “I'm creating a watermelon-based frozen dessert that calls for permanent peace for Palestinians while demanding repairing the damage that occurred in the region.”

The watermelon has emerged as an emblem of solidarity with Palestinians because of its colors, that mirror the colors in the Palestinian flag – the distinctive four-color pattern.

Previous Social Engagement and Current Changes

Several years ago, the ice cream company ceased sales of its products in areas occupied by Israel, leading to Unilever selling the Israeli operation over to an Israeli distributor, thus allowing continued sales within the occupied West Bank.

This upcoming product line is being created through Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the socially conscious ice cream brand which originally created several years back for endorsing ex- political contender Senator Sanders via the flavor "Bernie's Return".

Leadership Changes plus Future Intentions

Mr. Cohen revealed how he plans to develop additional frozen dessert varieties focusing on concerns which the company was silenced from speaking about openly by corporate restrictions.

The announcement comes after partner Jerry Greenfield stepped down from the company recently, following decades with the organization, mentioning concerns regarding how the company's autonomy was compromised following corporate moves to restrict its social activism.

At that time, Mr. Cohen remarked that “My partner has a really big heart and the ongoing dispute with Unilever was breaking it."

“My conscience leads me to continue to work inside the company to fight for corporate autonomy so that it can fulfill its ethical purpose, the principles that it was founded on and has maintained for over 40 years," he explained to journalists.

• Parent company limitations on political advocacy
• Personal product development by company founders
• Watermelon flavor as political symbol
• Continuing disagreements between corporate ownership and ethical values