Unilever Accelerates Exit from the Food Industry

Unilever Focuses on Beauty and Health: How Will Food Sales Reshape Its Growth Path?

After divesting the Lipton tea business and spinning off the Magnum ice cream brand, Unilever’s adjustments in the food sector continue. On March 20, Unilever issued a statement saying it has received an acquisition offer for its food business and is currently in discussions with McCormick & Company, Inc. It is not yet certain whether a deal will be finalized. Industry estimates value this business at up to €29 billion.

On the same day, McCormick also issued a statement confirming that it is in talks with Unilever regarding a potential strategic transaction involving Unilever’s food division. The company regularly reviews its investment portfolio and strategic options to maximize shareholder value, considering its fiduciary duties and consulting financial and legal advisors.

Public information shows that Unilever’s food business mainly includes the Knorr and Hellmann’s brands, which together account for 60% of Unilever’s food sales. McCormick is a well-known condiment company with brands including McCormick, Simply Better, French’s, and Zatar.

Financially, from 2023 to 2025, Unilever’s food division revenue is projected to be €13.2 billion, €13.4 billion, and €12.9 billion, respectively. In its 2025 financial report, Unilever noted that growth mainly comes from emerging markets, but the overall market environment remains sluggish. Brand-wise, Knorr saw low single-digit growth last year but experienced slight declines in developed markets. Hellmann’s achieved mid-single-digit growth, mainly driven by increased sales and ongoing premiumization strategies. Unilever’s food planning business remained flat, with sales declining in the Chinese market.

Facing market challenges, Unilever has been continuously divesting and spinning off food brands. In 2022, it sold its global Lipton tea business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion. In 2024, Unilever announced the spin-off of its ice cream business, including brands like Magnum, Wall’s, and Carte d’Or, completed in December 2025. In December 2024, the company sold Unox and Zwan to Dutch food company Zwanenberg Food Group, and Conimex was sold to Finnish company Paulig. In January 2025, Unilever sold its retail pasta sauce business under the Knorr brand in Germany to Italian food producer Casalasco. In March, it sold the plant-based brand The Vegetarian Butcher to Dutch-headquartered Vivera. In December, it sold its healthy snack brand Graze to Candy Kittens’ German parent company Katjes International.

Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez stated during the earnings call that the company will further focus on high-growth categories in 2025, increasing investments in beauty, health, and personal care. The company’s strategic focus is on more beauty, more health, more personal care, more premium products, more e-commerce, and more markets like the U.S. and India. He revealed that currently, beauty and personal care account for 51% of revenue, but Unilever aims to increase this to about 66.7%. Over the past decade, the company has significantly reduced its investments in food and beverage.

Jiang Han, senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, said that facing external pressures, Unilever’s food business has been under continuous strain, with sluggish or declining revenue. By selling non-core food brands and gradually exiting low-growth markets, the company is reallocating resources to fast-growing sectors like beauty, personal care, and health to achieve higher profitability and market competitiveness. These strategic moves reflect a core focus on high-growth, high-margin business areas.

“If Unilever completes the sale of its food business, this transformation will help optimize its business structure, improve overall profitability, and better respond to market changes and emerging consumer trends. The beauty, personal care, and health sectors have higher growth potential and profit margins, aligning with Unilever’s long-term strategic needs and helping it secure a more advantageous position in future markets,” Jiang Han said.

Regarding questions about the sale of the food business, Beijing Business Daily reporters contacted Unilever but have not received a response as of press time.

Beijing Business Daily, Tao Feng, Wang Yuetong