The Magnum Ice Cream Company

The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. is a Dutch multinational ice cream company headquartered in Amsterdam. It was established as an independent business through the demerger of Unilever's ice cream division on 1 July 2025. The separation followed Unilever's announcement on 19 March 2024 that it intended to create a standalone ice cream company, distinct from its remaining activities in personal care, home care, beauty and wellbeing, and foods. The new company brought together a large portfolio of established ice cream brands formerly owned by Unilever. Its portfolio includes Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Cornetto, Breyers, Calippo, and Wall's, among other regional businesses. The company also inherited the extensive regional naming and distribution system associated with Unilever's Heartbrand identity. Depending on the market, related ice cream products may be sold under names such as Wall's in the United Kingdom, Good Humor in the United States, Streets in Australia, OLA in the Netherlands, HB Ice Cream in Ireland, and Miko in France. The business is structured around frozen products and therefore operates with characteristics that differ from many of Unilever's other consumer-goods activities. Its operations depend on frozen supply chains, freezer equipment and frozen points of sale, seasonal demand patterns, specialized channels, and relatively high capital requirements. These features were among the reasons Unilever gave for separating the ice cream operations into a dedicated company. At launch, The Magnum Ice Cream Company was described as the world's largest ice cream manufacturer, with an estimated approximately 21% share of global ice cream sales. Its geographic reach is international, although brand names, product ranges, and route-to-market arrangements vary by country. The company adopted a corporate Heartbrand logo at launch, connecting the new corporate identity with the heart-shaped mark that had been used across several Unilever ice cream businesses since the 1970s. The separation also created questions about the future governance of Ben & Jerry's, whose founders and supporters have emphasized the importance of the brand's social mission and independent public voice. In September 2025, cofounder Ben Cohen protested in London with a demand to 'free Ben & Jerry's'; cofounder Jerry Greenfield subsequently resigned, citing concerns that Unilever and the new ice cream company were restricting the brand's independence on social issues. Chief executive Peter ter Kulve stated that Ben & Jerry's would not be sold and was fully integrated into The Magnum Ice Cream Company. The company became publicly traded on 8 December 2025 through an initial public offering on Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange. The listing was reported with the symbol MICC and an initial market value of approximately $9.1 billion. As a newly separated global ice cream group, its identity combines a corporate portfolio of major international and regional brands with the distinctive operational requirements of the frozen-food sector.

The Magnum Ice Cream Company emerged from Unilever's decision to separate its ice cream division from the rest of the group. On 19 March 2024, Unilever announced that it would create a standalone ice cream business. The company argued that ice cream had operating requirements unlike those of its other major categories. Frozen products require specialized logistics and storage, freezer-based points of sale, different distribution channels, and substantial seasonal planning. The category also carries greater capital intensity and demand volatility than many shelf-stable consumer products. A dedicated company was therefore intended to allow the ice cream activities to follow a more focused strategy while Unilever concentrated on personal care, home care, beauty and wellbeing, and foods. The demerger took effect on 1 July 2025. The new business was named The Magnum Ice Cream Company and was headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It combined a collection of major international and regional ice cream operations that had previously been part of Unilever. The portfolio included Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Cornetto, Breyers, Calippo, and Wall's. These brands cover premium chocolate-coated products, indulgent tubs, cones, novelty ice creams, frozen lollies, and family-oriented offerings. Their market identities remained locally adapted, with several countries using different names for businesses connected to the Heartbrand system. The Heartbrand became part of the new company's corporate identity. The heart-shaped symbol had been used across Unilever ice cream brands in different markets since the 1970s. Its regional manifestations included Wall's in the United Kingdom, Good Humor in the United States, Streets in Australia, OLA in the Netherlands, HB Ice Cream in Ireland, and Miko in France. The shared symbol provided continuity between the former Unilever portfolio and the newly independent company, even though brand names and product assortments continued to differ by market. At formation, The Magnum Ice Cream Company was characterized as the world's largest ice cream manufacturer and was reported to account for approximately 21% of global ice cream sales. Its scale came from the combination of established brands, multinational distribution, and a broad geographic presence rather than from a single uniform product range. The company's business model depends on a mix of branded packaged products, frozen retail infrastructure, seasonal consumption, and local market execution. The separation also generated a governance dispute involving Ben & Jerry's. Ben Cohen protested in London in September 2025, arguing that the brand should be freed to protect its long-standing social values and public positions. Peter ter Kulve, the new company's chief executive, said that Ben & Jerry's would not be sold because it was fully integrated into The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Later that month, Jerry Greenfield resigned, stating that Unilever and the new company were preventing Ben & Jerry's from maintaining an independent voice on social issues. The dispute became the most prominent early controversy associated with the new corporate structure. On 8 December 2025, The Magnum Ice Cream Company became a public company through an initial offering on Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange. Trading used the symbol MICC, and the initial market value was reported as approximately $9.1 billion. The listing marked the final major transition described in the available material: the ice cream activities had moved from a division within Unilever to a standalone, publicly traded multinational company with a large international portfolio.

• 2025

  The company becomes independent

  [1]The Magnum Ice Cream Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Magnum Ice Cream Company began operating as an independent company on 1 July after the demerger from Unilever.

• 2025

  Initial public offering

  [1]The Magnum Ice Cream Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company began trading as MICC on Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange on 8 December.

• 2024

  Unilever announces the ice cream demerger

  [1]The Magnum Ice Cream Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Unilever announced plans to create a separate ice cream company, citing the category's distinct frozen supply chain, channels, seasonality, and capital requirements.

A global, multi-brand ice cream company combining premium indulgent products, mainstream family ice creams, novelty formats, and regionally adapted frozen desserts.

• Premium ice cream

  Magnum

  Magnum is the company's namesake premium ice cream brand. Its range is associated with individually portioned ice cream products, especially chocolate-coated sticks and bars, and forms a central part of the corporate portfolio assembled from Unilever's former ice cream division.

• Ice cream tubs and novelty products

  Ben & Jerry's

  Ben & Jerry's is an international ice cream brand known primarily for packaged tubs and indulgent flavour combinations. It became part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company through the Unilever demerger and was the subject of an early governance dispute concerning its social mission and independent public voice.

• Ice cream cones

  Cornetto

  Cornetto is a packaged cone ice cream brand included in the company's inherited portfolio. It represents the cone segment of the business and is sold through multiple international and regional markets.

• Packaged ice cream

  Breyers

  Breyers is a packaged ice cream brand within the former Unilever ice cream portfolio. Its inclusion gives The Magnum Ice Cream Company exposure to established tub and family ice cream formats in the markets where the brand operates.

• Frozen lollies

  Calippo

  Calippo is a frozen lolly brand and part of the company's novelty ice cream portfolio. It contributes a fruit-oriented, handheld frozen-dessert format to the broader range of products sold through the group's international operations.

• Regional ice cream brand

  Wall's

  Wall's is one of the best-known regional identities associated with the Heartbrand system and is used particularly in the United Kingdom. It represents the local-market branding approach retained within The Magnum Ice Cream Company's multinational portfolio.

• 2025Free Ben & Jerry's campaign

  United Kingdom

  Ben Cohen protested in London after the demerger, calling for Ben & Jerry's to be freed so that the brand could protect its established social values and public positions.

  Outcome. Peter ter Kulve stated that Ben & Jerry's would not be sold and was fully integrated into The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

  Source

• 2025

  Retain Ben & Jerry's within the portfolioStrategy

  Background

  Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield raised concerns that the new ownership structure could restrict Ben & Jerry's ability to express its social positions independently.

  Action taken

  Peter ter Kulve said that Ben & Jerry's would not be sold because it was fully integrated into The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

  Aftermath

  The dispute continued publicly, and Jerry Greenfield resigned in September 2025.

  Source

• 2025

  Complete the public listingM&A

  Background

  Following the demerger, the company pursued a public-market structure for its independent operations.

  Action taken

  The company completed an initial public offering and listed under MICC on Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange.

  Aftermath

  The initial market value was reported at approximately $9.1 billion on 8 December 2025.

  Initial market value. $9.1 billion (8 December 2025, at initial public listing)

  Source

• 2024

  Separate the ice cream division from UnileverStrategy

  Background

  Unilever considered ice cream operationally distinct because of its frozen supply chain, freezer-based points of sale, seasonality, channel structure, and capital intensity.

  Action taken

  Unilever announced the creation of a standalone ice cream company that would combine several major ice cream brands.

  Aftermath

  The demerger took effect on 1 July 2025, creating The Magnum Ice Cream Company as an independent business.

  Source

1. 1The Magnum Ice Cream Companyen.wikipedia.org