Magnum and Cornetto owner Unilever to spin off ice-cream division

Among the brands owned by Unilever include Ben and Jerry's, Magnum, and HB. 

British multinational food and personal care company Unilever has announced that it is to spin-off its ice cream division, which owns brands such as Ben and Jerry’s as well as Magnum, as part of a major restructuring and cost-saving programme that will impact 7,500 jobs.

The process of turning the ice-cream division into its own standalone business will begin immediately and is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.

Unilever is aiming to deliver mid-single digit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement after the split, it said in a statement, to become a "simpler and more focused company".

The company’s board said it believes they should be increasingly focused on its portfolio of brands that have “strong positions in highly attractive categories that have complementary operating models”.

“Ice cream has a very different operating model, and as a result the board has decided that the separation of ice cream best serves the future growth of both ice Cream and Unilever,” the company said.

“As a standalone, more focused business, ice cream’s management team will have operational and financial flexibility to grow its business."

Unilever said their ice cream brands delivered €7.9bn in turnover in 2023.

Along with Ben and Jerry’s, the company also owns the HB brand which produces the Cornetto and Calippo ice-creams.

The cost savings programme is expected to save around €800bn over the next three years with 7,500 predominantly office-based globally being impacted. Total restructuring costs are anticipated to be around 1.2% of its turnover during the period.

Following separation, Unilever will operate across four business groups including beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care and nutrition.

Chair of Unilever Ian Meakins said the board is “determined to transform Unilever into a higher-growth, higher-margin business” that will deliver “consistently” for shareholders.

“The separation of ice cream and the delivery of the productivity programme will help create a simpler, more focused, and higher performing Unilever,” he said.

Additional reporting Reuters