RetailDetail EU
Europe - EN
  • België - NL
  • Belgique - FR
  • Nederland - NL
  • Europe - EN
  • Newsletter
  • Contact & Route
Members' area
  • Log in
  • Become a member
  • News
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Electronics
    • Beauty/Care
    • DIY/Garden
    • Leisure
    • General
  • Events
    • OVERVIEW EVENTS
    • EVENT PARTNERSHIPS
  • Advertising
    • PRINT ADVERTISING
    • ONLINE ADVERTISING
  • Members’ area
RetailDetail EU
Europe - EN
  • België - NL
  • Belgique - FR
  • Nederland - NL
  • Europe - EN
  • Newsletter
  • Contact & Route
  • News
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Electronics
    • Beauty/Care
    • DIY/Garden
    • Leisure
    • General
  • Events
    • OVERVIEW EVENTS
    • EVENT PARTNERSHIPS
  • Advertising
    • PRINT ADVERTISING
    • ONLINE ADVERTISING
  • Members’ area
Members' area
  • Log in
  • Become a member
thumb
Written by Pauline Neerman
In this article
  • Companies Unilever
  • Topics Acquisition
  • Geography Netherlands
Share article
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • email

Unilever sells iconic Dutch brands Unox and Zwan

icon
Food18 December, 2024
Dutchmen Photography / Shutterstock.com

Unilever is selling its Dutch brands Unox and Zwan to the Zwanenberg Food Group. The multinational wants to focus on its thirty strongest brands and had been looking to sell smaller, local icons like these two for a while.

A “difficult decision”

The sale is part of a wider strategic restructuring, as Unilever is increasingly concentrating on fewer but larger brands and wants to develop in segments such as snacks and sauces. Unox’ instant noodles and Cup-a-Soup will therefore remain in the Unilever portfolio. CEO Heike Schipper said the exit of Unox was a “difficult decision”, according to Dutch media, due in part to the brand’s cultural links with some Dutch traditions.

Zwanenberg is familiar territory for Unox: in 2017, Unilever sold the plant that produced Unox smoked sausages and pea soups to the Dutch company. The FMCG giant now says that Unox and Zwan’s soups and meat products require a specialised supply chain, which is able to make rapid adjustments in production capacity difficult and is therefore inconsistent with Unilever’s future strategy. The transaction is expected to be completed in the course of next year.

The sale of Unox and Zwan comes just days after the announcement of the sale of the Conimex brand, which specialises in Asian dishes, to a Finnish food company. Unilever has also been considering the sell-off of its ice cream brands, including Magnum, Ola and Ben & Jerry’s, for some time. So far, however, Unilever has not found a buyer for this division.

More on Food
See more
  • icon
    Food16 May, 2025
    Colruyt’s Delitraiteur acquisition greenlit

    The Belgian Competition Authority has approved Colruyt Group‘s acquisition of meal shop chain Delitraiteur from the Louis Delhaize Group.

  • icon
    Food15 May, 2025
    Snacks producer Van Geloven to close three plants

    McCain subsidiary Van Geloven, most famous for its snack brands Mora and Van Dobben, intends to close three of its six production plants in Belgium and the Netherlands. This will cost 142 jobs.

  • icon
    Food14 May, 2025
    Sligro forecasts first-time profits in Belgium

    After years of financial difficulties, Sligro expects to post positive figures in Belgium for the first time in 2025. The hospitality wholesaler has finally solved its logistical problems and is now targeting growth in sales and market share.

Events
  • 19
    Jun
    CATEGORY MANAGEMENT CONGRESS 2025
  • 17
    Sep
    CAPTAINS OF RETAIL 2025 – EDITION II
Most read
  • icon
    Fashion7 May, 2025
    Zalando enters Luxembourg market with dedicated webshop and app
  • icon
    Fashion6 May, 2025
    Zalando confirms forecasts after excellent first quarter
  • icon
    Fashion5 May, 2025
    Zara plans world’s biggest store in Antwerp
  • icon
    Leisure13 May, 2025
    Decathlon opens running shop in Bordeaux
Follow RetailDetail
  • socialFacebook
  • socialTwitter
  • socialInstagram
  • sociallinkedIn
footer-logo
RetailDetail, the leading b2b-retailcommunity in the Benelux, keeps retail professionals up-to-date by means of online & offline publications, retail events, inspiring retail hunts and the unique co-creation platform retailhub, where retailers and their suppliers can experience the future of shopping.
RetailDetail Mailing Address:
Kolveniersstraat 7, bus 26 2000 Antwerp
Visiting address:
Stadsfeestzaal – Meir 78 2000 Antwerp
How to reach us:
Directions
© 2025 RetailDetail
general conditions | privacy policy
Contact us About us info@retaildetail.be
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Accept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT