Unilever announces separation from ice cream brands Ben & Jerry's, Popsicle; 7,500 jobs to be cut
Unilever, which makes everything from Axe body sprays to Vaseline, is scooping Ben & Jerry's and its other ice cream brands out of its lineup and cutting 7,500 jobs as part of an ongoing growth plan.
The London-headquartered multinational conglomerate – one of the world's largest consumer goods companies – said Tuesday it will spin off its ice cream brands including Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, Wall's and Popsicle into a standalone business.
The separation, which will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, will help Unilever increase its focus on its other brands. Unilever made it clear it was open to a sale of its ice cream brands in its announcement.
Separating out ice cream is being served up as part of Unilever's action plan, which the company announced in October 2023, "to drive growth and unlock potential," the company said at the time.
Unilever will eliminate 7,500 jobs, "predominantly office-based roles globally," the company said Tuesday, after identifying "additional efficiencies that can now be accelerated," as part of the action plan.
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Why does Unilever want to ditch Ben & Jerry's, other ice cream brands?
“The separation of Ice Cream and the delivery of the productivity programme (sic) will help create a simpler, more focused, and higher performing Unilever," said Unilever chair Ian Meakins in a statement. "It will also create a world-leading ice cream business, with strong growth prospects and an exciting future as a standalone business.”
Ice cream accounted for 13% of Unilever's sales in 2023 at $8.6 billion – the lowest amount of its five product units – the company said in February. It also had lowest sales growth (2.3%) over the year.
In comparison, sales grew more than 8% for Unilever's beauty and wellbeing (Dove and Pond's beauty products) and personal care (soaps including Lux and Lifebouy) units.
Unilever's other two remaining core business groups will be Home Care (Comfort and Surf detergents) and Nutrition (Hellmann's mayonnaise and Knorr soups).
What are Unilever's ice cream brands?
- Ben & Jerry's: Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first ice cream store in 1978 in a renovated Vermont gas station.
- Breyer's: The venerable ice cream brand, started in Philadelphia in 1866, became part of Unilever when it acquired Kraft's ice cream division in 1993. The company renamed its frosty treat division the Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream Company.
- Good Humor: Chocolate-coated Good Humor bars on a stick debuted in Youngstown, Ohio in 1920. Unilever's Thomas J. Lipton division acquired Good Humor in 1961.
- Klondike bars: Acquired in 1993, Klondike began in Switzerland in the early 1900s. The Isaly family began making Klondike bars in the '40s in Ohio and Pennsylvania, taking the brand national in 1982. Unilever acquired the Islay Klondike Company in 1993.
- Magnum: Created in Denmark by Unilever-owned Frisko, the Belgian-chocolate coated treat was launched in 1989. It is part of Unilever's Heartbrand ice cream portfolio, which originated from then-Lever Brother's acquisition in 1922 of U.K. sausage and ice cream company Wall's.
- Popsicle: Unilever acquired the Popsicle brand, patented in 1923, along with Fudgsicles, too, in 1989. This put an end to the competition between Good Humor and Popsicle.
- Talenti: The gelato and sorbet maker, founded in Dallas in 2003, became part of Unilever in 2014.
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