Heartbrand - food industry company news 
On the money: Unilever admits food "area of focus" in North America
27 April 2012
Unilever has admitted its food division in North America is "an area of focus" as parts of the business struggle amid the challenging trading conditions in the region.
UK: Food volumes grow at Unilever in Q1
26 April 2012
Unilever has seen sales volumes from its food division increase in the first quarter of 2012, a sign of recovery after a year of decline.
UK: Unilever makes Magnum Rainforest Alliance commitment
21 February 2012
Unilever has pledged that Magnum will be the first ice-cream brand to contain only cocoa from farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
In the spotlight - Question marks over Unilever's food unit return
3 February 2012
Unilever's food division has been under the microscope in recent months, with a series of disposals and growth in many categories slow, lagging behind its more buoyant non-food businesses As Michelle Russell writes, this week, as Unilever reported its 2011 results, the scrutiny returned.
just-food's research round-up
20 January 2012
Flavours, health and wellness and ice cream are three sectors highlighted in this week's batch of featured reports from the just-food store.
UK/FINLAND: Unilever completes Finnish ice cream deal
22 December 2011
Unilever has completed the acquisition of Finnish firm Ingman Ice Cream.
UK: Unilever likely to sell staple food brands - Fitch
15 November 2011
Ratings agency Fitch has said it expects consumer goods group Unilever to offload individual food brands and focus on its fast-growing personal care business.
UK: Unilever food volumes slide in Q3
3 November 2011
Unilever has reported a fall in third-quarter volumes from both its main food divisions, as price hikes hit its spreads business and poor weather in Europe affected ice cream sales.
UK: Unilever launches Carte D'Or mini-tubs
5 September 2011
Unilever is to sell mini-tubs of Carte D'Or ice cream in the UK.
UK/NETHERLANDS: Shares rise as Unilever soothes margin fears
4 August 2011
Shares in Unilever climbed this morning (4 August) after the consumer goods giant's first-half results calmed the City's fears over its margins.
UK: Analysts speculate over future of Unilever's food operations
3 August 2011
Analysts have suggested that Unilever may look to sell its food division in order to fund acquisitions in the home and personal care sector.
SPAIN: La Caixa, FIAB establish agro-food fund
10 June 2011
Spanish banking major La Caixa and the country's leading food lobby Federación Española de Industrias de la Alimentación y Bebidas (FIAB) have joined forces to lend up to EUR300m (US$431.7m) to help SME agro-food companies obtain working capital and expand internationally.
SWEDEN: Axfood Hemköp banner to grow
9 June 2011
Swedish grocery operator Axfood today (9 June) announced that some 50 Vi Retailers' Association stores in Stockholm will join its Hemköp banner.
FRANCE: Unilever launches alcoholic Magnum
25 May 2011
Unilever has confirmed the French launch of a version of its Magnum hand-held ice cream that contains alcohol.
SWEDEN: Vi Retailers set to join Axfood banner
28 April 2011
Swedish retailer Axfood has welcomed Vi Retailers' Association's recommendation that its members sign individual chain agreements to join its Hemköp banner.
US: Unilever to launch Magnum ice cream in US
18 March 2011
Unilever has said it will begin selling its Magnum ice cream range in the US next month.
UK: Unilever profits up 26% in 2010
3 February 2011
Unilever has posted a 26% jump in annual profits as the consumer goods giant benefited from lower restructuring costs and proceeds from business disposals - but also from accelerating underlying sales in the fourth quarter.
The just-food interview - James Lambert, R&R Ice Cream
23 December 2010
The ice cream sector in Europe is dominated by Unilever, the consumer goods giant behind brands like Wall's, Magnum, Carte d'Or and Ben & Jerry's. However, UK-based R&R Ice Cream is building a business to be the other major player in the market. In this month's just-food interview, Dean Best spoke to R&R chief executive James Lambert about the company's ambitions.
UK: Unilever sets out sustainability goals
15 November 2010
Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever has announced plans to halve the environmental footprint of its products.
UK: Emerging markets drive Unilever in Q3
4 November 2010
Unilever CEO Paul Polman said this morning (4 November) that the consumer goods giant made "solid progress" in the third quarter of 2010 thanks to the company's emerging markets.
DENMARK: Unilever to buy ice-cream maker Diplom-Is
10 August 2010
Unilever is to acquire Danish ice-cream business Diplom-Is from Norwegian dairy group Tine.
Top stories on just-food this week
30 April 2010
Confirmation that Unilever is planning to sell its Italian frozen food business proved popular reading this week. It now seems likely the consumer goods giant will continue to streamline its business in developed markets while looking further afield to drive top-line gains, given the strength of its first-quarter performance in emerging markets. Food prices also came under the microscope this week, as retailers in the US and Australia reported on the impact of food deflation. Here are the top ten stories on just-food.
On the money: Unilever boss tries to rein in expectations
29 April 2010
Unilever chief executive Paul Polman today (29 April) warned investors "not to run ahead of yourselves" despite the consumer goods group seeing sales and volumes accelerate in the first quarter of 2010.
UK: Unilever shares rise as Asia drives Q1
29 April 2010
Shares in consumer goods giant Unilever rose this morning (29 April) after the Knorr-to-Magnum maker posted "strong" first-quarter results.
SWEDEN: Axfood captures ICA exec to lead Hemköp
3 February 2010
Swedish retailer Axfood has announced the appointment of Ola Andersson as president of its Hemköp retail banner.
INSIGHT: Kerry CEO eyes India entry
25 August 2009
The chief executive of Kerry Group hinted today (25 August) that the the Ireland-based food maker is eyeing an entry into India as the business aims to expand in Asia.
IRELAND: Kerry H1 profits up, sales dip
25 August 2009
Irish food maker Kerry Group today (25 August) posted rising half-year profits on the back of better margins from its ingredients, flavours and consumer foods division.
US: Bear Naked introduces “all natural” granola bars
8 July 2009
US natural foods company Bear Naked has expanded its range of premium natural granola bars with the introduction of the new 100% Pure & Natural Grain-ola line.
IRELAND: Efficiency push helps Kerry stick to forecasts
13 May 2009
Kerry Group, the Ireland-based food maker, has stuck to its earnings targets after seeing restructuring initiatives offset falling sales to boost margins.
ROMANIA: Unilever eyes expansion in ice cream
25 February 2009
Consumer goods giant Unilever is planning to expand in the Romanian ice cream market, with the launch of its ice cream brands and the acquisition of a local ice cream business.
Related research
Ice Creams & Frozen Desserts Update Market Report
This Key Note Market Update analyses the performance of the UK ice cream and frozen desserts market, the value of which reached £1.22bn in 2010 at retail selling prices (rsp), having increased by 10.4% since 2006.
Ice cream in Turkey
in 2011, the current retail value growth of ice cream is expected to be higher than the current retail value CAGR over the review period due to the launch of a number of sophisticated and value added products over the last two years of the review period. Examples of these sophisticated products include Magnum Gold, which is covered in gold-coloured coating and which was launched in 2010, and Magnum Temptation, which comes in Brownie with Belgian chocolate and almond-chocolate flavours and which...
Ice Cream - Germany - September 2009
The German ice cream market has been on a downwards trend in both volume as well as value sales since mid-decade.
