UK: Unilever to spin-off ice cream business

Unilever, the multinational consumer goods giant, has announced plans to spin off its ice cream divison into a separate business entity as it seeks ways “to accelerate its Growth Action Plan (GAP)”.

The ice cream business has a portfolio of the top ten most popular global ice cream brands, including Wall’s, Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s, which collectively generated revenue of around €7.9 billion ($8.53 billion) in 2023, the company said.

In a statement, Unilever also announced the launch of a “productivity programme” targeting €800 million ($864 million) in cost savings over three years, and impacting 7,500 predominantly office-based roles. The company said that, after the spin-off of the ice cream business, it would reorganise itself into four Business Groups named Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Nutrition.

Commenting on the move, Unilever chair Ian Meakins said: “The separation of Ice Cream and the delivery of the productivity programme will help create a simpler, more focused, and higher performing Unilever. It will also create a world-leading ice cream business, with strong growth prospects and an exciting future as a standalone business”.

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher added: “Under the Growth Action Plan we have committed to do fewer things, better, and with greater impact. The changes we are announcing today will help us accelerate that plan, focusing our business and our resources on global or scalable brands where we can apply our leading innovation, technology and go-to-market capabilities across complementary operating models”.

The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Source: Unilever