Ben & Jerry's crashes Unilever's ice cream investor party

By Alexander Marrow and Dimitri Rhodes

LONDON (Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's seized the spotlight on Unilever's ice cream unit on Tuesday to renew a call for its own spin-off ahead of a planned listing of the business in November after years of clashing over the U.S. brand's vocal position on Gaza.

As the new Magnum Ice Cream Company presented its growth plans on its first investor day ahead of the listing, the stand-off highlights one of the challenges for the new firm as it looks to rev up growth and win over health-conscious consumers.

Ben & Jerry's founder Ben Cohen protested outside the London hotel demanding to "free Ben & Jerry's", which the U.S. brand said was necessary to protect its social values. New Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve, however, said that the brand would not be sold.

"The business is not for sale. It's fully integrated in Unilever, in the Magnum Ice Cream Company," he told investors.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry's have been at odds since at least 2021 when the Chubby Hubby ice cream maker said it would stop selling in the Israel-occupied West Bank. Ben & Jerry's has sued its owner over alleged attempts to silence it and called the conflict in Gaza a "genocide", unusual for a major U.S. brand.

Unilever has previously said that the comments reflect the views of the independent social mission board of Ben & Jerry's, and they do not speak for anyone other than themselves.

JUST ONE CORNETTO?

Magnum Ice Cream is aiming for average annual organic sales growth of 3-5% in the medium-term from 2026, matching Unilever's overall outlook but exceeding the 3% historic average for the ice cream business, the company said.     

Unilever expects the ice cream unit, which includes brands such as Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Wall's and Cornetto, to command just over a fifth of the around $88 billion global ice cream market and compete with rivals such as Nestle-backed Froneri.

It expects the sector to grow to nearly $106 billion by 2029.

The mid-November spin-off, which will reduce Unilever's stake to less than 20%, presents a crucial test for CEO Fernando Fernandez as he looks to shake up the consumer goods giant, streamline management and boost margins.

Its rivals, including Kraft Heinz, are also looking to split up to boost growth and valuations.

Keurig Dr Pepper announced plans last month to combine with JDE Peet's and then separate its cold beverage and coffee divisions, while Swiss food giant Nestle is considering selling some underperforming brands.  

Unilever's ice cream business, which includes four of the world's top five brands, generated 7.9 billion euros ($9.3 billion) in revenue in 2024 and 1.3 billion euros of adjusted earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation. Magnum said its initial net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was expected to be 2.4.

Ice cream was Unilever's fastest-growing category in the second quarter with underlying sales growth of 7.1%, but the division has lagged in terms of margins.

FOCUSED PORTFOLIO

The ice cream split forms part of Unilever's efforts to operate a more focused portfolio of goods that will enable it to enhance productivity and drive growth.

Unilever's share price, which has increased slightly during Fernandez's six-month tenure but underperformed rivals like Danone and Reckitt, was down 1.3% on Tuesday. 

Magnum aims for productivity savings of 500 million euros in the medium term, through reducing overheads, a technology focus and bringing its complex "cold" supply chains together.

The new ice cream business will also test investor appetite for a sugar-heavy product at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is pushing to "Make America Healthy Again" and GLP-1 weight loss drugs are increasingly popular.

Magnum said GLP-1 drugs should have "limited impact".

($1 = 0.8498 euros)

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow in London and Dimitri Rhodes in Gdansk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Alexandra Hudson, Sharon Singleton, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Tomasz Janowski)