Unilever owns some of the most recognisable food brands on the planet. Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr soups, Marmite, Colman’s mustard. Brands that have sat on kitchen shelves across six continents for decades. And this week, it sold nearly all of them. In one giant $44.8 billion deal.
In today’s story, we talk about what Unilever just did, why it chose McCormick as the buyer, and why it specifically kept India out of the deal.
Quick disclaimer before we begin. Stocks or sectors mentioned here are only for context and not investment advice. Please do your own research or consult a registered financial advisor before investing.
Now onto today’s story.
The Story
On March 31, 2026, Unilever announced that it would combine its global foods business with McCormick & Company, the American spice maker behind brands like Frank’s RedHot, Cholula, and French’s mustard. The deal values Unilever’s food arm at $44.8 billion, making it one of the largest food industry transactions in history.
McCormick will pay \(15.7 billion in cash and the rest in stock. When the dust settles, Unilever and its shareholders will own 65% of the combined entity. The new company will generate roughly \)20 billion in annual revenue and become the world’s largest flavour and condiments business. The deal is expected to close by mid 2027, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
So why would Unilever give up brands it has owned for decades?
Because food is not where the money is anymore. At least, not for Unilever.
The company has been signalling this shift for over a year now. In December 2025, it spun off its entire ice cream division into The Magnum Ice Cream Company, a standalone public company. That move alone sent a clear message. Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Wall’s, all gone. Unilever was done with cold chains, seasonal demand cycles, and the thin margins that come with selling frozen desserts.
Now, with the McCormick deal, it is going even further. CEO Fernando Fernandez has been repeating a phrase that tells you everything you need to know about where Unilever is headed. His mantra, as reported by Food Navigator, is simple. More beauty. More wellbeing. More personal care. Notice what is missing from that list? Food.
And this is not just talk. In 2025 alone, Unilever completed or announced 11 portfolio transactions, including acquiring brands like Dr. Squatch in North America, Wild in the UK, and Minimalist in India. All beauty and personal care brands. Not a single food acquisition.
But here is where it gets interesting for Indian investors.
The McCormick deal excludes Unilever’s food business in India, Nepal, and Portugal. And the India exclusion is the most significant one by far.
Hindustan Unilever Limited, the Indian subsidiary, moved quickly to clarify the situation. In a regulatory filing, HUL stated that its foods business remains a “core and attractive” segment and is not under consideration for divestment.
Think about what this means. Unilever looked at its global food portfolio and decided that most of it was not worth keeping. Hellmann’s in the US, Knorr in Europe, Marmite in the UK, all going to McCormick. But India? India stays.
Why would Unilever sell its food brands everywhere but keep them in India?
The numbers tell the story. HUL’s foods segment, which includes brands like Knorr, Horlicks, Boost, Kissan, Bru, and Brooke Bond, generates more than ₹15,000 crore in annual revenue and contributes roughly 22% to HUL’s overall sales. In Q3 FY26, HUL’s food revenue grew 5.6% year on year, with Horlicks and Boost delivering high single digit growth and packaged foods reporting broad based volume improvement across ketchup, mayonnaise, soups, and food solutions.
Compare this with Unilever’s global food business, which has been a volume struggle for years. The global food division made up about a quarter of Unilever’s total sales, generating over €12.9 billion in 2025. But growth was sluggish. Margins were under pressure. And the strategic vision had clearly shifted toward beauty and personal care, where pricing power, brand loyalty, and innovation cycles are all stronger.
India, on the other hand, is the opposite story. The Indian FMCG market is projected to grow at 16.6% CAGR from 2026 to 2034, potentially reaching over $1,150 billion by 2034. Rural consumption is accelerating, premiumisation is real, and digital commerce is opening up entirely new distribution channels. For Unilever, India is not just a market. It is the growth engine.
Fernandez himself confirmed this when he outlined Unilever’s growth priorities: anchoring growth in the US and India. These are the two markets Unilever believes will define the next decade. And in India, food is not the slow growing drag it has become in Europe. It is a high growth, high volume business with massive runway ahead.
So what does this mean if you own HUL shares?
The immediate impact is essentially zero. HUL’s food brands are not part of the deal. Brooke Bond tea is not going anywhere. Neither is Kissan ketchup or Horlicks. The brands stay, the revenue stays, and the growth trajectory stays.
But the bigger picture is worth paying attention to. Unilever is becoming a fundamentally different company. When you strip out ice cream (already gone) and global foods (going to McCormick), what remains is a beauty, personal care, and wellness powerhouse. That is where Unilever’s capital, its R&D spend, and its acquisitions will flow.
For HUL, this could be a double edged situation. On one hand, being the sole custodian of Unilever’s food brands in India gives HUL a unique position. It keeps a ₹15,000 crore revenue stream that the parent company values enough to hold on to. On the other hand, HUL’s future will increasingly be shaped by the beauty and personal care strategy that Fernandez is driving globally. The acquisition of Minimalist by HUL in 2025 was an early sign of exactly that direction.
And what about the deal itself? Did markets like it?
Not really. Unilever shares fell nearly 7% on the day the deal was announced. McCormick dropped about 6%. The combined company will carry significant debt, with leverage expected to be around 4x earnings at the time of closing. And there are real antitrust questions about combining so many food brands under one roof.
There is also a structural issue that Motley Fool UK pointed out rather sharply. Of the $44.8 billion deal value, only $15.7 billion is cash. The rest is stock in a company that contains the very businesses Unilever was trying to get rid of. Unilever will also be locked in from selling its stake for at least a year. That is not exactly a clean exit.
The broader trend here is worth noting though. Mega food companies are getting leaner. In 2024, nearly half of all M&A activity in consumer products came from divestitures. Companies are shedding complexity, focusing on fewer categories, and betting on higher margin businesses. Unilever is following that playbook aggressively.
But the India question remains the most fascinating one.
In a world where one of the largest consumer goods companies has decided that food is not its future, India is the exception. The one market where food is still worth fighting for. Where a ₹15,000 crore food business growing at high single digits is not a drag on the portfolio but a strategic priority worth protecting.
That tells you something about where India sits in the global consumer story right now. Not just as a market that matters, but as one that is growing fast enough to change the math entirely.
Until then…
If this piece helped you understand the Unilever story better, share it with someone who might find it useful.
This article is for educational purposes only. Not investment advice.
Happy Investing 😎
Nataraj Malavade Investor, Trader, Author & Mentor
www.natarajmalavade.in
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Publication |
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| 1 |
Unilever |
Unilever announces the combination of Unilever Foods with McCormick |
Read |
| 2 |
Bloomberg |
Unilever Nears Completion of Food Unit Sale to McCormick |
Read |
| 3 |
CNBC |
McCormick buys Unilever’s food business in deal that values it at nearly $45 billion |
Read |
| 4 |
PR Newswire |
McCormick to Combine with Unilever’s Foods Business |
Read |
| 5 |
Food Ingredients First |
Unilever and McCormick strike deal to form US$20B global food powerhouse |
Read |
| 6 |
McCormick IR |
McCormick to Combine with Unilever’s Foods Business |
Read |
| 7 |
CNBC |
Unilever spinoff Magnum Ice Cream debuts on Amsterdam stock market |
Read |
| 8 |
Food Navigator |
Food giants pivot to beauty |
Read |
| 9 |
Personal Care Insights |
Unilever centers financial strategy on beauty and personal care |
Read |
| 10 |
BNN Bloomberg |
McCormick acquires Unilever’s food business in US$45B deal |
Read |
| 11 |
Business Standard |
Not in any discussions to divest foods portfolio: Hindustan Unilever |
Read |
| 12 |
Storyboard18 |
Unilever plans foods business carve-out, India ops excluded |
Read |
| 13 |
Storyboard18 |
HUL centralises marketing under new CMOs; Q3 FY26 results |
Read |
| 14 |
IMARC Group |
India FMCG Market Size, Share, Trends 2034 |
Read |
| 15 |
Proactive Investors |
Unilever falls on deal to spin off foods arm into McCormick merger |
Read |
| 16 |
Motley Fool UK |
Value investors: Unilever shares are down 7% in a day |
Read |
