March 31 (Reuters) - Unilever has agreed to separate its food unit, home to Knorr and Hellmann's, and merge it with spice maker McCormick in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the British firm's food
How food shaped Unilever for nearly a century
The Evolution of Unilever's Food Business
March 31 (Reuters) - Unilever said on Tuesday it will merge its food business with spice maker McCormick in what would be the second-largest food transaction in history, creating a company worth roughly $65 billion.
The transaction marks the end of an era for Unilever, whose origins in the food business date back to a butter business from 1860.
Unilever will retain a 9.9% stake in the combined business though the company plans to sell it down one year after the deal closes.
The agreement excludes certain assets such as Unilever's operations in India, the companies added.
The following timeline traces Unilever's evolution from a soap-and-margarine company into the world's second-largest packaged food company after Switzerland's Nestle:
Unilever's Early Roots
The Butter and Margarine Era
1860
The Jurgens family, originally carpenters, begin selling butter received as payment for their work. As the trade proves highly profitable, they relocate to Oss in the Netherlands in 1860 to focus on building a butter business.
1869
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès invents margarine, a butter substitute made from beef fat, in response to a French government push for an affordable alternative for the working classes and military.
1870
The Van den Bergh family, butter merchants based in Oss, expand their thriving trade and begin exporting to England, the largest market for Dutch butter at the time.
1871
In 1871, the Jurgens family acquire the margarine production patent from Mège Mouriès. Jan Jurgens introduces the product to Simon Van den Bergh, who develops a similar offering. Both businesses flourish through new products and innovations.
Building a Food Empire
Key Mergers and Acquisitions
1922
Lever Brothers Ltd, a rapidly growing British soap and detergent company, buys Wall's, a popular sausage company that wants to expand into the ice cream business.
Wall's begins to sell ice cream directly to customers via salesmen on tricycles. This is the first time in Britain that ice cream has been factory-made, pre-hardened and wrapped for mass distribution, branded and retailed.
1927
Several margarine businesses including Jurgens and Van den Bergh, combine to create Margarine Unie - the Margarine Union. By this point, Jurgens and Van den Bergh have operations in Britain and make cheese and soft drinks in addition to margarine.
1930
Lever Brothers merges with Margarine Unie to form Unilever, creating a global consumer goods giant in one of Europe's biggest mergers at the time.
Expansion into Frozen and Packaged Foods
Frozen Food Innovations
1943
Unilever enters the frozen food market by acquiring a controlling stake in Frosted Foods and the UK rights to deep freezing. The deal secures the Birds Eye brand in Britain and lays the foundation for Unilever's expansion into frozen food. Around the same time, Unilever acquires Batchelors, which specialises in freeze-dried vegetables and canned goods.
1946
Birds Eye launches the first frozen peas in the UK. At this time meat, fish, ice cream and canned goods account for only 9% of Unilever's total turnover.
Nutrition and Research
1950
Unilever launches a nutrition research group in the Netherlands that later becomes the Unilever Food & Health Research Institute.
Iconic Products and Brands
1955
Fish fingers, made by Birds Eye, are introduced in the UK and within a decade they account for 10% of British fish consumption.
Globalization and Diversification
Packaged Foods and Tea
1960s - 1980s
Unilever expands into packaged foods such as soups, sauces and ready meals by leveraging its fats-and-oils expertise, investing in food processing and cold-chain technology, and scaling brands like Birds Eye and Batchelors while building distribution across Europe and North America. For instance, Unilever buys Lipton International and PG Tips and becomes one of the world's largest tea companies.
Major Acquisitions
2000
Unilever buys Ben & Jerry's the same year it buys Bestfoods, which makes Hellmann's mayonnaise and condiments and Knorr stock cubes and soup powders, in what was at the time the second-largest cash acquisition in history.
2007
Unilever announces agreements to acquire the Buavita vitality drinks brand in Indonesia and Inmarko, the leading ice cream business in Russia.
Reshaping the Portfolio
Strategic Divestments
2016
Unilever shocks the market by selling Upfield, its rooted margarine and spreads business - that owned the Flora and Stork brands - to KKR for 6.8 billion euros ($7.79 billion).
2022
Unilever sells most of its global tea business to CVC Capital Partners for 4.5 billion euros, including the Lipton, PG Tips and Pukka Herbs brands.
Recent Developments
2025
Under CEO Fernando Fernandez, Unilever spins off its ice cream business that owns Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, Cornetto and other major global brands. Fernandez also sees through the sale of The Vegetarian Butcher and healthy snacking brand Graze.
2026
Unilever confirms reports that it is in talks with U.S. spice maker McCormick for a deal for its food business. ($1 = 0.8728 euros)
Reporting
(Reporting by Richa Naidu in London and Rishab Shaju and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
