Upfield (company)

Last updated
Upfield B.V.
Company type Besloten vennootschap
Industry Consumer goods
Predecessors
Founded2018;6 years ago (2018) (by spin-off)
Founders
Headquarters,
Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
David Haines, CEO
Products Margarines, spreads
Owner Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Parent Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Website upfield.com

Upfield Holdings B.V. is a Dutch food company owning multiple brands of margarine, food spreads, and plant-based foods, including Flora and Blue Band. It states that it is the largest plant-based consumer packaged goods company in the world, operating in 95 countries. [1]

Contents

Upfield was spun off from Unilever and purchased by investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) in 2018 for US$8.04 billion. [2]

History

Margarine was one of the first products sold by the company that would merge into Unilever. [3] Antoon Jurgens of Oss, Netherlands, acquired the patent for making margarine from its inventor Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès in 1871. [4] Through a series of mergers Jurgens' company became Margarine Unie in 1927 and then Unilever in 1929. [5] Since that time, Unilever has added other margarine and food spread brands.

Although the food spreads division of Unilever maintained a robust profit margin, in the 21st century sales declined as many consumers switched to butter. In the five years leading to 2014, sales of margarine fell 6%, while sales of butter rose 7%. [6]

Following a February 2017 takeover attempt by Kraft Heinz, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman made a pledge to investors to boost returns. In April of the same year, Unilever put the margarine and spreads division up for sale with the intention of returning the net cash from the sale to shareholders. [2]

The sale sparked a bidding war among buyout firms including Apollo Global Management, CVC Capital Partners, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and Bain Capital. According to Bloomberg, it was the biggest-leveraged buyout in Europe in 2017. [3] In December 2017, Unilever accepted an offer of €6.8bn from investment firm KKR. The purchase, which was completed in July 2018, was funded by European and North American private equity funds that are under KKR's control. [7] The brands in the sale represented about 7% of Unilever's global business. [8]

In January 2020 they purchased Violife, a brand of plant-based cheese. [9]

Following falling margarine sales as consumers switched to butter, since summer 2020 the company focussed more on the "plant-based" market, also claiming sustainability, to increase sales. [10] The Group also announced it would invest €50 million in a facility for research and development on plant-based products, to be opened at the end of 2021. [11]

Leadership

David Haines, non-executive director of tobacco company Imperial Brands, was appointed CEO in July 2018. [12] Current members of the Executive Committee are listed on the Upfield website. [13]

Products and operations

A veggieburger with Violife vegan cheese Boca Burger 2.jpg
A veggieburger with Violife vegan cheese

Upfield's notable brands include: [14]

In southern Africa, Remgro-owned Siqalo Foods, rather than Upfield, holds the rights to several of these brands.

After Upfield was spun off from Unilever in 2018, the Purfleet-on-Thames factory was closed, making 200 employees redundant. [16] Underperformance and excessive costs were determined to be the reason for the closing of the factory.

In June 2020 it was made public that Upfield were to offshore its factory in Helsingborg, Sweden, [17] with 80 employees notified of termination. The manufacture of Upfield's cheese & dairy products was scheduled to move to a factory in Kleve, Germany by February 2021. [18]

Buttermilk was added to now non-vegan UK production of Flora Buttery in 2020. [19]

In March 2021 Upfield announced that the factory in Rotterdam would close in mid-2022.[ citation needed ]

In November 2021 Upfield bought Unilever's production factory in Cali, Colombia, producing Rama, Violife and Blue Band. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmite</span> UK brand of yeast extract spread

Marmite ( MAR-myte) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing (lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan source of B vitamins, including supplemental vitamin B12. A traditional method of use is to spread it very thinly on buttered toast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeast extract</span> Cell contents of yeast without the cell walls, used as a food additive

Yeast extracts consist of the cell contents of yeast without the cell walls; they are used as food additives or flavorings, or as nutrients for bacterial culture media. They are often used to create savory flavors and umami taste sensations and can be found in a large variety of packaged food including frozen meals, crackers, snack foods, gravy, stock and more. They are rich in B vitamins. Yeast extracts and fermented foods contain glutamic acid, an amino acid which adds an umami flavor. Glutamic acid is found in meat, cheese, fungi and vegetables—such as broccoli and tomatoes. A number of other substances found in yeast extract provide aromas, some meat-like, when allowed to react under heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butter</span> Dairy product

Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment, and used as a fat in baking, sauce-making, pan frying, and other cooking procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarine</span> Semi-solid oily spread often used as a butter substitute

Margarine is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was originally named oleomargarine from Latin for oleum and Greek margarite. The name was later shortened to margarine.

Individual branding, also called individual product branding, flanker brands or multibranding, is "a branding strategy in which products are given brand names that are newly created and generally not connected to names of existing brands offered by the company." Each brand, even within a same company, has a unique name, identity and image, allowing the company to target different market segments, tailor pricing and marketing strategies, and separate the image and reputation of different products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unilever</span> British multinational consumer goods company

Unilever PLC is a British multinational fast-moving consumer goods company founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. It is headquartered in London.

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Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and is used to make crumbly pastry and other food products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Thurrock</span> Human settlement in England

West Thurrock is an area, former civil parish and traditional Church of England parish in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 18 miles (28.1 km) east south-east of Charing Cross, London.

Becel is a brand of margarine produced by Dutch company Upfield. In France, it is sold as Fruit D'or, and in the United States as Promise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!</span> Brand of vegetable oil spread

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a brand of margarine, produced by Upfield and marketed as a substitute for butter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora (spread)</span> Brand of spread

Flora is a brand of spread produced by Upfield except in southern Africa where it is produced by Siqalo Foods, a subsidiary of Remgro). The original manufacturer Unilever came up with the brand after being asked by medical professionals to develop a healthier alternative to traditional margarines, lard and butter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertolli</span> Brand of Italian food products

Bertolli is a brand of Italian food products produced by multiple companies around the world with the trademark owned by Mizkan Holdings. Originating as a brand of extra-virgin olive oil, in which it was the global market leader, pasta sauces and ready meals are now sold under the brand name as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sana (margarine brand)</span>

Sana is a Turkish margarine brand that was first released by Unilever's Turkey Branch in 1953 and now owned by Upfield. It is the Turkish variant of Country Crock. It is the first margarine that was wrapped up a packet in Turkey. As it had no other opponent in market and produced from soybean oil that was imported from the U.S., it became the leading margarine brand for decades. It is a generic brand for any margarine produced in Turkey. In Turkish, any margarine is often called Sana yağı. It is the bestseller margarine in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Crock</span> American food brand known for margarine spreads

Country Crock is a food brand owned by Upfield. It originally sold spreads such as margarine, but later extended to side dishes, particularly mashed potatoes and pasta, made by Hormel under license.

Planta is a brand of margarine produced by Upfield for Belgium, France, Malaysia and Portugal. It is made from vegetable oil: rapeseed, maize and sunflower.

The Newfoundland Margarine Company was Canada's first oleomargarine manufacturing company, and a leading producer in the Dominion of Newfoundland and after 1949, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was founded by Sir John Chalker Crosbie in 1925 and was one of three margarine plants established in Newfoundland during the early 20th century. With the expertise of George Ehlers, a Danish chemist, the Crosbie family grew the firm into the largest margarine manufacturing firm in Newfoundland. The Newfoundland Butter Company through acquisition and merger over the years with the other two manufacturing plants was eventually sold to Lever Brothers of England in 1937 and became a subsidiary of Lever Brothers of Canada.

Stork is a brand of margarine spread manufactured primarily from palm oil and water, owned by Upfield, except in southern Africa, where it is owned by the Remgro subsidiary Siqalo Foods.

Brummel & Brown is the name of butter spread that was introduced by Van den Bergh Foods in 1994 and now produced by Upfield. In 2000, Brummel & Brown introduced a line of creamy fruit spreads, such as Strawberry Fruit Spread, and Blueberry Fruit Spread. The spread contains 10% nonfat yogurt and 35% vegetable oil. Water is the top listed ingredient in the margarine spread, but not in the fruit spread which lists high fructose corn syrup, water, strawberries, and sugar within its top 7 ingredients.

Blue Band is a brand of margarine, cheese spreads, and vegetable fat spreads. Originally a Dutch brand developed by Van den Bergh it remains widely available in Germany, where it has been sold since 1924. It is produced by Upfield except in southern Africa, and by Remgro-owned Siqalo Foods in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegan cheese</span> Cheese-like substance made without animal products

Vegan cheese is a category of non-dairy, plant-based cheese analogues. Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products.

References

  1. "Upfield". www.upfield.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 Roumeliotis, Greg (2017-12-16). "Unilever to sell spreads business to KKR for $8 billion". Reuters.
  3. 1 2 Buckley, Thomas (15 December 2017). "Unilever Sells Spreads Business to KKR for $8.1 Billion". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. Rupp, Rebecca (13 August 2014). "The Butter Wars: When Margarine Was Pink". www.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. "Our history". Unilever global company website. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  6. Coxall, Malcolm (20 February 2014). Ethical Eating: A Complete Guide to Sustainable Food. Cornelio Books. p. 58. ISBN   978-84-941783-1-3.
  7. Devlin, Edward (15 December 2017). "KKR snaps up Unilever spreads division for £6bn". TheGrocer.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  8. Treanor, Jill (15 December 2017). "Unilever sells household name spreads to KKR for £6bn". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. "UPFIELD GROUP B.V. CLOSES PURCHASE OF ARIVIA". Violife Foods. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  10. Evans, Judith (6 July 2020). "Flora maker looks to spread virtue of margarine in vegan shift" . Financial Times.
  11. White, Martin (12 June 2020). "Upfield invests 50m euros into new plant-based R&D facility". Foodbev.
  12. "Imperial Brands director David Haines leaves for Upfield gig". Shares Magazine. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020.
  13. "Leadership". Upfield.
  14. "Our Brands". www.upfield.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  15. Gallagher, Sophie (26 February 2021). "Sorry, wait, Elmlea isn't actually cream?". The Independent.
  16. Speight, Neil (January 18, 2019). "200 jobs set to go as spreads factory in Purfleet is earmarked for closure".
  17. "Helsingborgsföretag flyttar verksamhet utomlands". HD.
  18. Brulin, Gunnar (June 30, 2020). "Upfield i Helsingborg varslar 80 anställda".
  19. "Flora Adds Dairy Buttermilk Back Into Vegan Buttery Spread in UK". VegNews.com. October 2020.
  20. "La producción de las margarinas Rama cambiará de dueño". 18 November 2021.