Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s plans cannibidiol ice cream

Industry Contributor 3 Jun 2019 - 2 min read

Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s plans cannibidiol ice cream

By Paul McIntyre - Executive Editor

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Tags: unilever, cannabidiol, Ben & Jerry's, Constellation Brands, alcohol, tobacco, advertising, marketing, brand building

Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s says it plans to launch cannibidiol-infused ice cream as soon as the U.S. government approves CDB (Ben & Jerry’s).

Key points:

“We’re fans of all things groovy — think: Half Baked and Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies”
“We are committed to bringing CBD-infused ice cream to your freezer as soon as it’s legalised at the federal level”
“We’re doing this for our fans. We aspire to love our fans more than they love us and we want to give them what they’re looking for in a fun, Ben & Jerry’s way.” – CEO Matthew McCarthy

CBD's hot – and corporations are spending billions to secure their supplies.

Alongside big tobacco, beverage companies are going large on marijuana-infused drinks, a market predicted to be worth up to $1.4bn by 2023 in the U.S alone. No surprise then that Constellation Brands spent $4bn last year to take its stake in market leader, Canopy Growth, to 38%. Some believe the drinks maker may buy the cannabis firm outright by 2023.

While the cannabis market looks ripe for further M&A, Ben & Jerry’s plans to get high on its own supply, “we want to use sustainably-sourced CBD from our home state of Vermont”, stated the company.

If the U.S. government gives CBD the nod, as looks likely, Ben & Jerry’s will be among the first of many brands piling into the next mega growth industry – a huge marketing opportunity is on its way.