Unilever has agreed to sell The Vegetarian Butcher to JBS-owned Vivera for an undisclosed price.
The Hellmann’s and Magnum owner hired bankers at Piper Sandler to offload the plant-based brand late last year as part of an ongoing portfolio optimisation.
It bought The Vegetarian Butcher in 2018 from founder Jaap Korteweg. It said today that the business had since delivered “strong double-digit growth on average” and expanded to have a presence in more than 55 markets worldwide across retail and foodservice.
Unilever added the chilled and frozen products manufactured by The Vegetarian Butcher required “a distinct supply chain and sourcing model”, which made the brand “less scalable” within the broader foods portfolio, which includes the likes of Knorr, Ben & Jerry’s and Marmite.
“Additionally, the unique set of technological and R&D capabilities that drive the remarkable innovations of The Vegetarian Butcher differs significantly from the requirements of the wider Unilever portfolio,” the group said. “This divergence makes a sale of the brand the best option for both Unilever and The Vegetarian Butcher.”
It represents the latest departure from plant-based for food & drink groups following a slowdown in the category, with the likes of Nestlé, Samworth Brothers, Innocent and Heck all pulling vegan products from the market over the past two years.
The divestment is part of Unilever’s strategy to sell off non-core assets to focus on its 30 big ‘power brands’ such as Dove, Surf and Horlicks.
Last year at its capital markets day event, Unilever earmarked food brands making up around €1bn of group revenues that it would consider pruning from the portfolio. Speculation has ramped up in the past month over how quickly Unilever will move to sell brands such as Marmite, Pot Noodle and Colman’s after the surprise departure of CEO Hein Schumacher last month.
Heiko Schipper, president of Unilever foods, said: “Since the acquisition, The Vegetarian Butcher has delivered significant growth and launched many extraordinary products. The creative, impactful communication campaigns have fostered genuine love for the brand among consumers.
“These efforts have not only driven the success of the brand but also reinforced the Unilever commitment to plant-based foods and breakthrough innovation.
“I believe that The Vegetarian Butcher is poised for even greater success in the next phase of its journey under new ownership that is dedicated to plant-based meat replacements. This focused expertise will support the brand in its ambitious goal to become the ‘Biggest Butcher of the World’.”
The Vegetarian Butcher was one of small handful of brands to register a rise in the UK plant-based market last year. It sits just outside the top 10 biggest meat-free brands and saw a 0.2% increase in sales value to £7.8m as volumes rose 2.2% [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024].
Rutger Rozendaal, CEO at The Vegetarian Butcher, added: “We are very excited for The Vegetarian Butcher to be joining forces with Vivera, as it will bring the opportunity to combine our strengths and deliver even greater value to our partners and our consumers.”
Vivera is one of the largest vegan foods companies in Europe and has been owned by global meat processor JBS since 2021.
Vivera CEO Willem van Weede said: “The impressive and relentless dedication of the people of The Vegetarian Butcher have brought the vision of Jaap Korteweg to life on unprecedented scale and ‘sacrificing nothing’. Vivera is proud to unite with such like-minded believers in and experts of plant-based products, with the same big ambition towards a better and much more plant-based food chain. We are looking forward to together accelerate this important transition, leveraging the complementary competencies of our both companies.”
Vivera was advised on the deal by investment bank Houlihan Lokey.
The binding offer from Unilever is subject to the usual closing conditions, regulatory requirements and consultation processes, with completion expected by the third quarter of 2025.
No comments yet