Exhibit 10.26.1


                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

                  Agreement  by and between Ben & Jerry's  Homemade,  Inc.  (the
"Company"),  a Vermont corporation with its principal place of business at Route
100,  P.O.  Box 240,  Waterbury,  Vermont  05676,  and Bruce Bowman of Columbus,
Georgia (The "Executive"), effective as of the 21st day of August, 1995.

         WHEREAS, subject to the terms and considerations hereinafter set forth,
the Company wishes to employ the Executive as its Senior  Director of Operations
and Executive wishes to accept such employment;

     NOW,  THEREFORE,  in consideration of the foregoing premises and the mutual
promises,  terms,  provisions,  and conditions set forth in this Agreement,  the
parties hereby agree:

          1.   Employment.

     Subject  to the  terms and  conditions  set  forth in this  Agreement,  the
Company hereby offers and the Executive hereby accepts  employment as the Senior
Director of Operations, responsible to the Company's Chief Executive Officer and
President..

          2.   Term.

     Subject to earlier  termination  as  hereafter  provided,  the  Executive's
employment  hereunder shall be for a term of three (3) years,  commencing on the
effective date hereof.

          3.   Performance.

     During  the term  hereof,  the  Executive  shall  devote his full time best
efforts,  business  judgement,  skill and  knowledge to the  advancement  of the
business and interests of the Company.

          4.   Compensation and Benefits.

     As compensation for all services  performed by the Executive and subject to
performance of the Executive's obligations:

          a.   Base Salary. The Company shall pay the Executive a base salary at
               the rate One Hundred and Sixty  Thousand  Dollars  ($160,000) per
               annum in accordance with the payroll practices of the Company for
               its  executives,  subject to annual merit  salary  reviews by the
               Chief Executive Officer.

          b.   Annual Incentive Award. The Executive shall be entitled to annual
               incentive award (the "Incentive  Award") payable in cash or Class
               A common stock as determined by the Chief  Executive  Officer and
               President  after  consultation  with the Executive and subject to
               the  approval  of the  Compensation  Committee  of the  Board  of
               Directors. The amount of the Incentive Award shall be as follows:





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          b.1  1995 Short Year  (August 21 - December  31,  1995) shall be Forty
               Thousand  Dollars  ($40,000) and payable within thirty days after
               January  1,  1996.  Half  of this  incentive  is  guaranteed  and
               intended to  compensate  the  Executive for any earned bonus that
               was forgone by the Executive by leaving his previous  position at
               his  previous  employer.  The balance of this  incentive  will be
               based upon the  Executive's  progress in  addressing  goals which
               cover the first five months at the Company  primarily  addressing
               orientation, assessment of the current operations, prioritization
               and planning of critical  work for the  operations of the Company
               and the overall transition of the Executive into the position, as
               determined upon  recommendation  of the Chief Executive  Officer,
               subject to the  approval  of the  Compensation  Committee  of the
               Board of Directors.

          b.2  1996 and Future  Years  shall not  exceed 35% of the  Executive's
               annual base salary. 25/35% of the Incentive Award will be paid in
               cash and the  balance  will be paid in  shares  of Class A common
               stock  issued  under the  Company's  Restricted  Stock Plan.  The
               annual  incentive  will be paid within sixty days after January 1
               of the following year. The specific criteria and objectives shall
               be  established  for any year prior to the start of each year and
               will be  mutually  agreed  upon by the  Executive  and the  Chief
               Executive  Officer and President,  subject to the approval of the
               Compensation   Committee  of  the  Board  of  Directors  and  the
               determination as to the amount of the Incentive Award earned will
               be determined upon recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer,
               subject to approval of the Compensation Committee.

          c.   Stock Options.  The Executive  shall receive  options,  which are
               non-statutory,  non-incentive  stock options,  to purchase 25,000
               shares of Class A common stock of the Company  exercisable at the
               market  price at the close of  business on August 21,  1995,  the
               first day of your employment. The Compensation Committee formally
               grants the options under the Company's 1995 Equity Incentive Plan
               (the  "Plan").  The  options  have a term of ten (10)  years  and
               become  exercisable at the rate of 5, 000 shares a year under the
               following schedule: 5,000 shares on January 1, 1997, 5,000 shares
               on January 1, 1998,  5,000 shares on January 1, 1999, 5000 shares
               on January 1, 2000, and 5,000 shares on January 1, 2001. The full
               terms of the  options  shall be set  forth in the form of  Option
               Certificate attached as Exhibit A.

          d.   Other Benefits. The Executive shall be entitled to participate in
               any of the employee  benefit  plans,  including  medical and life
               insurance, 401(K) plan, personal time, etc and any other employee
               benefit plans which effect  Executives of the Company,  except to
               the extent that any benefit excludes  participation by executives
               of the Company.  The Company may alter,  modify, add to or delete
               its  employee  benefit  plans  at any  time  as it,  in its  sole
               judgment, determines to be appropriate.

          e.   Business  Expenses.  The  Company  shall  pay  or  reimburse  the
               Executive for all reasonable  business  expenses of the Executive
               in the performance of his duties and responsibilities  hereunder,
               subject to reasonable substantiation and documentation.






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          f.   Car  Allowance.   The  Company  typically  only  provides  a  car
               allowance  to  the  field  sales  force,   however,  the  Company
               anticipates  that the  Executive  will  frequently  travel to the
               various operations and locations throughout the State of Vermont.
               The Company will provide the  Executive  with a car  allowance of
               $542 dollars per month, and  reimbursement of 80% of his gasoline
               expenses.  Theses  amounts may be subject to  taxation  under IRS
               guidelines,  most likely reflecting what percentage of the use of
               the car is for business purposes.

          g.   Relocation Expenses. The Company will reimburse the Executive for
               the following relocation  expenses:  (i) Closing costs on selling
               the existing home, including sales commission and legal fees, not
               to exceed  $15,000  dollars (ii)  Expenses to move all  household
               goods, not to exceed $8,000 dollars, (iii)Interim living expenses
               for sixty (60) days, not to exceed $2,000 dollars,  (iv) Expenses
               for up to two (2)  house-hunting  trips for the Executive and his
               wife including air fare,  lodging,  meals and rental car, and (v)
               Closing  costs on any new  purchase  of the  Executive's  primary
               residence,  including  standard  mortgage  points  (not  buy down
               interest  rate  expenses)  and legal fees,  not to exceed  $8,500
               dollars. The Company is willing to consider reimbursement for any
               expenses which exceed the  limitations  listed above,  should the
               cost of relocation increase substantially for unforeseen reasons.
               All reimbursed amounts will be grossed up for tax purposes.

          5.   Termination of Employment and Severance Benefits.

     The  Executive's   employment   hereunder  shall  terminate  prior  to  the
expiration of the term of this Agreement under the following circumstances:

          a.   Death.  In the event of the  Executive's  death  during  the term
               hereof,  the  Company  shall  pay to the  Executive's  designated
               beneficiary  or if no  beneficiary  has  been  designated  by the
               Executive, to his estate, any Base Salary, bonuses and incentives
               that are earned but  unpaid,  pro-rated  through  the date of his
               death and payment or reimbursement  of business  expenses accrued
               prior to the date of death.

          b.   By  the  Company  for  Cause.   The  Company  may  terminate  the
               Executive's  employment  hereunder  for  Cause at any  time  upon
               written  notice  to the  Executive  setting  forth in  reasonable
               detail the nature of such Cause,  and the Executive's  failure to
               cure within thirty (30) days. The following, as determined by the
               Board in its reasonable  judgement,  shall  constitute  Cause for
               termination:

               I.   The  Executive's  willful  failure to perform (other than by
                    reason  of  disability)  or  negligence   (measured  against
                    standards generally prevailing in the Company's industry) in
                    the  performance of his duties and  responsibilities  to the
                    Company; or

               ii.  Other  deliberate  willful  action by the Executive  that is
                    materially harmful to the business,  interests or reputation
                    of the Company.





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     Notwithstanding  the foregoing,  the Executive  shall not be deemed to have
been  terminated  for Cause unless and until there shall have been  delivered to
him  a  notice  of  termination.  Upon  giving  notice  of  termination  of  the
Executive's  employment hereunder for Cause following the Executive's failure to
cure,  the  Company  shall  have  no  further  obligation  or  liability  to the
Executive,  other  than  for  business  expenses  accrued  prior  to the date of
termination.  Upon  termination  of  employment  for Cause,  all  options  shall
terminate.

          c.   By the Company  other than for Cause.  The Company may  terminate
               the Executive's  employment hereunder other than for Cause at any
               time  upon  notice  to  the  Executive.  In  the  event  of  such
               termination,  then,  for a period of one year,  the Company shall
               continue  to  pay  the  Executive  the  Base  Salary  and  Annual
               Incentive  Award at the rate in effect on the date of termination
               and the  prior  years  Incentive  Award  and  shall  continue  to
               contribute,  subject to any employee  contribution  applicable to
               the  Executive  on the  date of  termination,  for  such one year
               period, to the cost of the Executive's  participation  (including
               his family) in the Company's  group  medical and  hospitalization
               insurance  plans,  provided  that the  Executive  is  entitled to
               continue such participation  under applicable law and plan terms.
               Upon  termination of employment for other than Cause, all options
               shall terminate.

          6.   Effect of Termination.

     Except  for  medical  and  hospitalization   insurance  coverage  continued
pursuant to Section 5.c. and options as provided in the Equity  Incentive  Plan,
all benefits shall  terminate on termination  of the  Executive's  employment or
expiration of this  Agreement.  Provisions of this  Agreement  shall survive any
termination  if so  provided  herein  or if  necessary  or  desirable  to  fully
accomplish  the purposes of such  provision,  including  without  limitation the
obligations of the Executive under Sections 7, 8 and 9 hereof.

          7.   Confidential Information.

          a. The Executive  will comply with the policies and  procedures of the
Company and its Subsidiaries for protecting  Confidential  Information and shall
never disclose to any Person  (except as required by applicable  law) or use for
his own benefit or gain, any Confidential  Information obtained by the Executive
incident to his employment or other  association  with the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.  The Executive understands that this restriction shall continue to
apply  after  his  employment  terminates,  regardless  of the  reason  for such
termination.

          b. All  documents,  records,  tapes and other  media of every kind and
description  relating to the business,  present or otherwise,  of the Company or
its Subsidiaries and any copies, in whole or in part, thereof (the "Documents"),
whether  or not  prepared  by the  Executive,  shall be the  sole and  exclusive
property of the Company and its Subsidiaries.  The Executive shall safeguard all
Documents  and  shall  surrender  to the  Company  at the  time  his  employment
terminates.  Or at such earlier time or times as the Chief Executive  Officer or
his  designee  may  specify,  all  Documents  that in  then  in the  Executive's
possession or control.





                                     <PAGE>



          8.   Assignment of Rights to Intellectual Property.

     The Executive shall promptly and fully disclose all  Intellectual  Property
to the Company. The Executive hereby assigns and agrees to assign to the Company
(or as otherwise  directed by the Company) the Executive's full right, title and
interest in and to all Intellectual  Property.  All copyrightable works that the
Executive creates shall be considered "work made for hire".

          9.   Restricted Activities.

     The Executive  agrees that some  restrictions on his activities  during and
after his  employment  are  necessary  to  protect  the  goodwill,  Confidential
Information and other legitimate  interests of the Company and its Subsidiaries,
and that the agreed  restrictions set forth below will not deprive the Executive
of the ability to earn a livelihood:

          a.   While the  Executive is employed by the Company and for two years
               after his employment terminates (the  "Non-Competition  Period"),
               the  Executive  shall not,  directly  or  indirectly,  whether as
               owner,   partner,   investor,    consultant,   agent,   employee,
               co-venturer or otherwise,  compete with the Company or any of its
               Subsidiaries  within the  United  States,  or within any  foreign
               country in which the Products are sold at the date of termination
               of  employment,  or  undertake  any  planning  for  any  business
               competitive with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

          b.   The  Executive  further  agrees  that while he is employed by the
               Company and during the Non-Competition Period, the Executive will
               not hire or attempt to hire any employee of the Company or any of
               its Subsidiaries,  assist in such hiring by any Person, encourage
               any such employee to terminate his or her  relationship  with the
               Company or any of its  Subsidiaries,  or solicit or encourage any
               customer or vendor of the Company or any of its  Subsidiaries  to
               terminate  its  relationship  with  them,  or,  in the  case of a
               customer,  to conduct with any Person any business activity which
               such  customer  conducts or could conduct with the Company or any
               of its Subsidiaries.

          c.   The  provisions of this Section 9 shall not be deemed to preclude
               the Executive from employment during the  Non-Competition  Period
               following  termination of employment  hereunder by a corporation,
               some of the activities of which are competitive with the business
               of the Company,  if the  Executive's  employment does not relate,
               directly or indirectly, to such competitive business, and nothing
               contained  in this  Section  9 shall be deemed  to  prohibit  the
               Executive,    during   the   Non-Competition   Period   following
               termination of employment  hereunder,  from acquiring or holding,
               solely  as an  investment,  publicly  traded  securities  of  any
               competitor  corporation so long as such securities do not, in the
               aggregate,  constitute  one-half of 1% of the outstanding  voting
               securities of such corporation.

     Without limiting the foregoing, it is understood that the Company shall not
be obligated  to continue to make the payments  specified in Section 5(b) in the
event of a material  breach by the Executive of the  provisions of Sections 7, 8
and 9 of this Agreement, which breach continues without having been cured within
30  days  after  written  notice  to the  Executive  specifying  the  breach  in
reasonable detail.




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          10.  Enforcement of Covenants.

     The Executive  acknowledges  that he has carefully  read and considered all
the terms and conditions of this  Agreement,  including the  restraints  imposed
upon him pursuant to Sections 7, 8 and 9 hereof.  The Executive agrees that said
restraints are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company
and its Subsidiaries and that each and every one of the restraints is reasonable
in respect to subject matter,  length of time and geographic area. The Executive
further  acknowledges that, were he to breach any of the covenants  contained in
Sections 7, 8 and 9 hereof, the damage to the Company would be irreparable.  The
Executive  therefore agrees that the Company,  in addition to any other remedies
available  to it,  shall be entitled to  preliminary  and  permanent  injunctive
relief  against any breach or threatened  breach by the Executive of any of said
covenants.  The parties  further  agree that, in the event that any provision of
Section  7, 8 and 9  hereof  shall  be  determined  by any  court  of  competent
jurisdiction to be  unenforceable by reason of its being extended over too great
a time, too large a geographical  area or too great a range of activities,  such
provision  shall be  deemed to be  modified  to permit  its  enforcement  to the
maximum extent permitted by law.

          11.  Indemnification.

     The Company shall  indemnify  the Executive to the extent  provided for the
Company executive  officers in its then current Articles of Incorporation or By-
laws.  The  Executive  agrees to  promptly  notify the  Company of any actual or
threatened  claim  arising  out of or as a  result  of his  employment  with the
Company.

          12.  Full Settlement.

     Following a termination of employment, the Executive shall not be obligated
to seek other  employment  or take any other action by way of  mitigation of the
amounts  payable to the Executive  under any of the provisions of this Agreement
and such amounts shall not be reduced whether or not the Executive obtains other
employment.

          13.  Definitions.

     Words or phrases which are initially  capitalized  or are within  quotation
marks  shall have the  meanings  provided  in this  Section  13 and as  provided
elsewhere  herein.  For purposes of this  Agreement  the  following  definitions
apply:

          a.   "Confidential  Information"  means any and all information of the
               Company  and its  Subsidiaries  that is not  generally  known  by
               others with whom they compete or do  business,  or with whom they
               plan to compete or do business  and any and all  information  not
               readily  available  to the public,  which,  if  disclosed  by the
               Company or its Subsidiaries  would assist in competition  against
               them.  Confidential  Information includes without limitation such
               information relating to (I) the development,  research,  testing,
               manufacturing,   plant  operational   processes,   marketing  and
               financial activities,  including costs, profits and sales, of the
               Company and its Subsidiaries,  (ii) the Products and all formulas
               thereof, (iii) the costs, source of supply, financial performance
               and strategic plans of the Company and its Subsidiaries, (iv) the
               identify and special  needs of the customers and suppliers of the
               Company and its Subsidiaries and (v) the people and organizations
               with  whom  the  Company  and  its  Subsidiaries   have  business
               relationships and those relationships.  Confidential  Information
               also includes  comparable  information that the Company or any of
               its Subsidiaries  have received  belonging to others or which was
               received  by the  Company  or any of its  Subsidiaries  with  any
               understanding that it would not be disclosed.




                                     <PAGE>



          b.   "Intellectual    Property"   means    inventions,    discoveries,
               developments,  methods, processes, formulas, compositions, works,
               concepts and ideas (whether or not patentable or copyrightable or
               constituting trade secrets) conceived, made, created,  developed,
               or reduced to practice by the  Executive  (whether  alone or with
               others,  whether or not during normal business hours or on or off
               Company  premises) during the Executive's  employment that relate
               to either the Products or any prospective activity of the Company
               and its Subsidiaries.

          c.   "Products"  mean all  products  planned,  researched,  developed,
               tested,   manufactured,   sold,  licensed,  leased  or  otherwise
               distributed  or  put  into  use  by  the  Company  or  any of its
               Subsidiaries,  together will all services  provided or planned by
               the Company or any of its  Subsidiaries,  during the  Executive's
               employment.

          14.  Withholding.

     All payments made by the Company under this  Agreement  shall be reduced by
any tax or other amounts required to be withheld by the Company under applicable
law.

          15.  Assignment.

     Neither the  Company  nor the  Executive  may make any  assignment  of this
Agreement or any interest herein, by operation of law or otherwise,  without the
prior written consent of the other;  provided,  however,  that in the event that
the Company shall hereafter effect a reorganization,  consolidate with, or merge
into, any other Person or transfer all or substantially all of its properties or
assets to any  other  Person,  the  Company  shall  require  such  Person or the
resulting  entity to assume expressly and agree to perform this Agreement in the
same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform
it.

          16.  Severability.

     If any  portion  or  provision  of this  Agreement  shall to any  extent be
declared illegal or unenforceable by court of competent  jurisdiction,  then the
remainder of this Agreement,  or the application of such portion or provision in
circumstances  other  than  those  as to  which  it is so  declared  illegal  or
unenforceable,  shall not be affected thereby, and each portion and provision of
this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by
law.

          17.  Waiver.

     No waiver of any provision hereof shall be effective unless made in writing
and signed by the  waiving  party.  The  failure of either  party to require the
performance of any term or obligation of this Agreement, or the waiver by either
party  of any  breach  of this  Agreement,  shall  not  prevent  any  subsequent
enforcement  of such term or obligation or be deemed a waiver of any  subsequent
breach.

     18.   Notices.

     Any and all notices,  requests,  demands and other communications  provided
for by this  Agreement,  shall  be in  writing,  and  shall  be  effective  when
delivered  in person or deposited in the United  States mail,  postage  prepaid,
registered  or  certified,  and  addressed  to the  Executive  at his last known
address  on the  books of the  Company  or, in the case of the  Company,  at its
principal place of business, attention Chief Executive Officer and President.




                                     <PAGE>


          19.  Entire Agreement.

     This Agreement  constitutes  the entire  agreement  between the parties and
supersedes all prior communications, representations and understandings, written
or oral, with respect to the terms and conditions of the Executive's employment.

          20.  Amendment.

     This  Agreement  may be amended or  modified  only by a written  instrument
signed by the Executive and by an expressly authorized officer of the Company.

          21.  Governing Law and Consent to Jurisdiction.

     This is a Vermont contract and shall be construed and enforced under and be
governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Vermont,  without regard to
the conflict of laws principles  thereof,  and any legal  proceeding  brought in
connection with the  negotiation,  construction or performance of this Agreement
or relating to the  Executive's  relationship  with the Company may be initiated
solely in the United States  District Court of Vermont or the Washington  County
Superior Court, District of Vermont.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed by the Company, by its
duly  authorized  officer,  and by the  Executive,  as of the date  first  above
mentioned.

                                             BEN & JERRY'S HOMEMADE, INC.



___________________________            By:   _____________________________
/s/Bruce Bowman, Executive                   /s/Robert Holland, Jr.,
                                                Chief Executive Officer and
                                                President


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