Exclusive-Unilever considers selling British brands Marmite, Bovril, sources say

By Amy-Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Andres Gonzalez and Alexander Marrow

LONDON (Reuters) -Unilever is considering selling historic British brands including Marmite, Colman's and Bovril, three people with knowledge of the matter said, as the consumer goods giant exits some food businesses to focus on beauty and wellbeing.

Efforts to simplify Unilever's portfolio mirror moves by competitors such as Nestle, which has put its water business up for sale and has underperforming vitamin brands under review, and Kraft Heinz, which is breaking up.

Unilever is considering shedding Marmite, a century-old yeast-based spread whose strong salty taste is renowned for sharply dividing opinion, but will keep Pot Noodle, two of the people told Reuters.

The package of British assets, which includes Colman's and Bovril beef extract, is estimated to have revenues of about 200 million pounds ($261 million), one of the people said.

Unilever declined to comment. 

SIGNIFICANT SALE FOR NEW CEO IN PROSPECT

Selling Marmite, Colman's and Bovril would be Unilever's most significant disposal since Fernando Fernandez became CEO in February with a mandate to speed up its turnaround strategy.

Consumer conglomerates have been struggling with squeezed profit margins and sliding sales volumes for several years due to supply-chain crunches and high inflation.

Unilever announced the sale of The Vegetarian Butcher to Netherlands-based Vivera in March and personal care brand Kate Somerville to Rare Beauty Brands in October.

The British brands Unilever is now considering putting on the block have widespread recognition at home and abroad. All three have been owned by the company for at least 20 years. 

English mustard maker Colman's is more than 200 years old and in 2020, production moved from Norwich to Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, where Marmite and Bovril are also made.

PURSUING HIGHER-MARGIN PREMIUM PRODUCTS

Home to about 400 brands worldwide, Unilever is focusing more on marketing its top 30 "power" brands, such as personal care giant Dove, deodorant brand Axe and Hellmann's mayonnaise.

Under Fernandez, who had been president of its Beauty & Wellbeing business before becoming CFO, Unilever is pushing into higher-margin premium products in beauty and personal care, sectors that some analysts see as having more growth potential.

Former chief executive Hein Schumacher said last year that Unilever was looking to slim down its "rather eclectic" portfolio of food brands and a person close to the company told Reuters in October that it was looking into selling non-core European food brands worth $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

A major milestone in the refocusing will be the demerger next month of Unilever's ice cream business, which is home to brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry's. 

($1 = 0.7654 pounds)  

(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Andres Gonzalez and Alexander Marrow. Editing by Lisa Jucca, Elisa Martinuzzi, Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith)