Big Food Industry Accelerates Brand Divestitures
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 31 2026
0mins
Source: Newsfilter
- Divestiture Trend: According to Bain, nearly half of the M&A activity in the consumer products sector in 2024 is driven by divestitures, indicating that Big Food companies are selling off underperforming brands to tackle weak market demand.
- Increased Market Pressure: With consumers and regulators pushing back against ultra-processed foods, companies like Unilever and Kraft Heinz are splitting or divesting iconic brands to regain investor confidence and improve financial performance.
- Sales Decline Phenomenon: Major food companies are experiencing declining sales, particularly as consumer preferences shift towards fresh and healthy foods, leading to shrinking volumes for many traditional brands and negatively impacting stock performance.
- Uncertain Future Outlook: While divesting underperforming assets is seen as a strategy to enhance shareholder value, analysts caution that without addressing underlying issues, mere brand sales may not yield the expected financial improvements.
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Analyst Views on UL
Wall Street analysts forecast UL stock price to fall
3 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 73.460
Low
60.10
Averages
68.37
High
74.00
Current: 73.460
Low
60.10
Averages
68.37
High
74.00
About UL
Unilever PLC is a United Kingdom-based global consumer goods business. The Company's segments include Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Foods. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment primarily sells hair care (shampoo, conditioner, styling), skin care (face, hand and body moisturizers) and includes Prestige Beauty and Wellbeing. The Personal Care segment primarily sells skin cleansing (soap, shower), deodorant and oral care (toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash) products. The Home Care segment primarily sells fabric care (washing powders and liquids, rinse conditioners) and a range of home and hygiene cleaning products. The Foods segment primarily sells cooking aids and mini-meals (soups, bouillons, seasonings), condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup) and Unilever Food Solutions. The Company's beauty & wellbeing brands include CLEAR, Dermalogica, Liquid I.V., Dove and TRESemme. The Company's home care brands include Cif, Comfort, Domestos, OMO, Radiant, Sunlight and Surf.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Unilever's Innovations: Unilever's systems can digitally test thousands of recipes in seconds, with the Knorr Fast & Flavourful Paste developed in roughly half the usual time, significantly improving R&D efficiency and reducing the need for physical testing.
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