Unilever has refused to be drawn on a media report suggesting it is looking to sell some of its Dutch food brands.
The Bovril brand owner declined to comment on the issue when approached by Just Food.
Three sources close to the matter told global news agency Reuters yesterday (14 November) that the Hellmann’s mayonnaise maker is mulling the sale of brands such as Unox and Conimex.
Unox is a line of prepared soups and noodles, while Conimex encompasses snacks and spice mixes, among other products.
The Knorr stock cubes producer has reportedly hired local banking group ABN Amro to assist with the sale of such assets.
Reuters‘ sources said the move was was part of CEO Hein Schumacher’s goal of honing in on its so-called “power” brands.
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They added that the affected brands were not core to Unilever, and that combined, they had profits of around €40m ($42.3m).
The sources also told Reuters that the company was looking to hand off smaller food brands in the UK and other European countries.
Unilever is now one year into its Growth Action Plan, which is focused on “faster growth; productivity and simplicity; and performance culture”.
The strategy aims to cut costs of €800m by 2027, partly by shedding 7,500 employees across the business.
Earlier this year, Unilever revealed plans to spin off its ice-cream business. In a statement following the announcement in March, the Ben & Jerry’s manufacturer, which is the world’s largest producer of ice cream, said demerging the assets into a listed company was “the most likely separation route”.
Unilever said the separation would make it “a standalone, more focused business”, one that will have more “operational and financial flexibility”.
A report emerged from Bloomberg in July which suggested the Cornetto maker had begun ice-cream sale talks with a group of investors. Unilever declined to comment on the issue when approached by Just Food at the time.
In its third-quarter results released in October, the Marmite brand owner said plans to separate its ice-cream business were on track by the end of next year.
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