Ben & Jerry's Does More For Franchisees

The Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand has long had a reputation for caring about issues such as the climate, fair trade, and equality. Now the brand is demonstrating how much it cares about its franchisees too.

In a time where some franchises brands are helping their franchisees by eliminating their marketing fees and royalties for a short period during the Covid-19 outbreak, Ben & Jerry's has gone a step further.

"Not only has Ben & Jerry's forgiven our marketing fees for February and March so far, but they have also decided they would not collect our royalties for February through June," said Michael Garrett, a Ben & Jerry's franchisee in Mount Kisco, New York.

In addition to the extended relief from marketing and royalties fees, Ben & Jerry's is supporting its franchise community further with two grants to help out in this difficult time.

"Ben & Jerry's leadership team has always said that we are a family and must support one another. In our opinion, their actions speak louder than any words could," said Garrett, who has been a franchisee with the brand for 33 years.

The Ben & Jerry's franchise community is tightly knit and many have established support groups to help their fellow franchisees through this difficult time. Garrett says franchisees are able to check in on one another and make sure they all have an outlet to discuss anything on their minds.

Though Garrett's shop is currently closed, he says he knows they can depend on Ben & Jerry's marketing support once they can safely reopen.

"The support teams at Ben & Jerry's are working day and night to make sure that we have a successful relaunch when the time is appropriate."