Unilever has an agreement to sell the Graze portfolio of healthy snacks to Katjes International, a European investment firm with holdings in sugar candies. Graze will be placed within Katjes’ Candy Kittens group in the UK. Price was not disclosed.
Unilever bought Graze in 2019 and evolved it from a primarily direct-to-consumer brand to one with a strong presence in UK retail stores, and an updated and contemporary visual identity designed to attract shoppers, Unilever said. Unilever also said it made Graze profitable and helped it to grow in the retail channel.
“I’ve always loved Graze — they changed the way the UK thinks about healthier snacking, and I think we can take that even further,” said Jamie Laing, founder of Candy Kittens. “I’m excited about this project and grateful for the opportunity to continue building the Graze brand.”
Unilever has been reassessing some of its food assets for the past year, resulting in a handful of divestments. “Unilever’s ambition in foods is to deliver consistent, top-tier performance in its peer set, and will do that by rigorously focusing on three attractive global categories; condiments, cooking aids & mini meals, and Unilever Food Solutions,” the company’s Graze sale announcement said.
“This is where Unilever has proven capabilities to win, anchored in its large, global power brands, and is sharpening its portfolio for long-term growth and scalability in these areas. This includes pruning the portfolio where relevant.”
One big pruning should happen any day now. Unilever is spinning off its global ice cream business, a divestment that would be complete by now if not for the U.S. government shutdown, which delayed the Securities and Exchange Commission from approving Magnum’s U.S. stock registration. Magnum is scheduled to list on the Amsterdam stock exchange on Dec. 8.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.