Cohen co-founded ice cream company Ben & Jerry's with Jerry Greenfield in a converted gas station in Burlington, Vermont, in 1978.

The company became known for its progressive social mission and activism.

• Ben & Jerry's was sold to Unilever in 2000 for $326 million, with an independent board retained to oversee its social mission.

• He has publicly criticized Unilever and its ice cream spin-off, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, accusing them of suppressing the brand's political activism.