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When it comes to store-bought ice cream, there are a handful of brands that have gained fame and respect for their high-quality, unique flavors and overall taste. While there are plenty of high-end grocery store ice creams gaining prominence these days, it’s hard to argue that Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t tick all the boxes while also having one of the biggest fanbases of any ice cream brand sold in the United States. And today, 48 years into its existence, the brand shows no signs of stopping.
The nearly 50-year-old brand was first a standalone ice cream shop which was opened in Burlington, Vermont by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield back in 1978. The two founders converted a gas station into the small ice cream wonderland with a $12,000 investment — an investment they made only after taking a $5 ice cream course at Penn State University.
With humble beginnings, the duo was quick to expand their ice cream’s reach. It only took nine years for their unique brand of ice cream to be sold in 35 states across the country, an expansion that led to Ben & Jerry’s being a $150 million company by 1994. These days, Ben & Jerry’s is regarded as among the very best ice cream brands in the world. Each pint (or, as Ben & Jerry’s released in 2025, a shareable double-pint) is considered by many to be well worth the notoriously high price, which is why the brand continues to grow to this day.
What makes Ben & Jerry’s so special?
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While there are many reasons people love Ben & Jerry’s, from its emphasis on progressive and environmental activism to its higher butterfat content, the most prominent reason for its prolonged success is likely the general creativity coming from the premium ice cream brand. With over 90 unique flavors of the product currently available, Ben & Jerry’s delivers different styles of ice cream for those with different preferences to enjoy. Some of these flavors, like chocolate chip cookie dough, strawberry cheesecake, and classic vanilla, are ones made by other brands as well; but some of the most popular Ben & Jerry’s flavors in existence, like Cherry Garcia and Half Baked, are completely original ideas crafted by the brand itself. This innovation has helped set the Vermont-based company apart from the competition, with debates over which flavors of Ben & Jerry’s are the best commonly ensuing among its many ice cream fans.
Further, each of its unique ice cream products is made with an emphasis on strong flavors, something that came from personal necessity. Ben Cohen once explained in a New York Times interview that his poor sense of smell — and thus, weaker sense of taste — led Jerry Greenfield to intensify the flavors of each ice cream they’d make to ensure they were distinct enough for his fellow founder to identify blindfolded (via Time). While this obviously didn’t remain a part of the flavor-developing process long-term, it set the precedent of packing every pint of Ben & Jerry’s with strong flavors early on.
Dining and Cooking