Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops Could Hit 1 Million Free Cone Mark At Annual Event.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2000

Three, two.... The clock's ticking on the biggest scoop of the century. Today, April 18th, is the 22nd Annual "Free Cone Day" at Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops worldwide. It's all on the house, today from 12 noon until 8:00 p.m., as ice cream lovers spanning North America, Europe, and the Middle East line up to please their palates - and their wallets - in one of 40 free flavors.

It's all part of a "thank you" tradition begun by co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield back in 1979, to help celebrate their first year in business and the loyal customers who'd made it possible. "We'd always promised ourselves that if the business made it through its first year, we'd celebrate by giving away ice cream," recalls Cohen. "So on our first anniversary, we started the `Free Cone Day' ritual that's still with us today. After all, who wants to have an ice cream parlor if you can't give away free ice cream every now and then?"

Last year, Ben & Jerry's dished out well over half a million free cones, and looks forward to doubling that number this year. "We topped 500,000 free cones scooping coast-to-coast in 1999," says Marl Belcher, Ben & Jerry's Franchise Marketing Manager. This year's global event makes a million cones within reach."

If you should happen to spot a familiar face behind the counter, look again. Over the years, celebrity "guest scoopers" at Free Cone Day have featured movie stars, sports greats, music legends, political figures, and of course, Ben and Jerry themselves! This year, check out your San Francisco Ben & Jerry's scoop shops for guest scoopers helping scoop up fave flaves. Donations from the day's events will go to charity.

Join the worldwide stampede on April 18th. Whether you're a Bovinity Divinity fan from Berkeley, a disciple of Cookie Dough in Denver, a Southern Pecan Pie addict from Atlanta, a Caramel Chew Chew champion in Amsterdam, or just want a dish of Phish Food in Vermont, Ben & Jerry's has free ice cream to satisfy the whole herd!

Just how big is this funky free event? Consider this:

-- For those who can't make it to a Scoop Shop, Ben & Jerry's is

capturing the celebration at its Burlington, Vermont Scoop

Shop with a Web Cam! Joining the fun is only a mouse-click

away -- catch the world's coolest confection freebie online at

www.benjerry.com.

-- Roger Kaufman, owner of the Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops located

at Haight-Ashbury, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach and Union

Square, and in Burlingame and Napa, as well the Partnershops,

run by Juma Ventures, on Chestnut Street and in the Castro,

has participated in Free Cone Day from the beginning - all 22

years.

-- Think the million cone mark is a tall order? That's totally

true - a tower made from the 1,000,000 free cones expected to

be given away in 2000 would reach the top of Chicago's Sears

Tower 402 times, the Empire State Building 466 times, and the

Eiffel Tower 593 times! Saying thank-you is all about going

over the top.

For the location of the Ben & Jerry's scoop shop nearest you, visit the Ben & Jerry's web site: www.benjerry.com.

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super premium ice cream, ice cream novelties, low fat ice cream, low fat yogurt, sorbet, and Frozen Smoothies using Vermont dairy products and high-quality, all natural ingredients. The company is committed to using milk and cream that have not been treated with the synthetic hormone, r BGH. Ben & Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's scoop shops, restaurants, and other venues.

Ben & Jerry's operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward, and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry's gives 7.5% of its pre-tax profits back to the community through corporate philanthropy that is primarily employee-led.