The World is a Better Place for Ben & Jerry’s Business Pivot

We bet you were today-years-old when you learned that Ben & Jerry’s was originally going to be in the bagel business. And not the chocolate-coated kind served atop some obscure ice cream flavour.

In 1977, the then middle-schoolers Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were drawn to the idea of launching a bagel company with cream cheese, lox and a side of The New York Times. Their reason for breaking into the hospitality industry? A mutual lack of athleticism and academic breakthroughs. 

However, upon learning of the costs associated with operating a bagel company, the duo went for a venture with fewer holes in it. One that involved a $5 ice-cream-making course at Pennsylvania State University and that would forever change first dates and break-ups.

Fast forward, and Ben & Jerry’s is one of the only ice cream brands served in space and on sea. Yes, you read that correctly. Found on the majority of Royal Caribbean ships and enjoyed by astronauts in the cosmos, Ben & Jerry’s is, quite literally, out of this world.