Unilever France has announced its intention to sell the Boursin cheese brand.
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“This kind of soft cheese no longer has a place in Unilever’s strategy,” said a company spokesperson.
Last year, Boursin sales were worth EUR 95m, half of this figure earned in France. Sales over the past five years have been good and the response to new product launches has been encouraging, the company said.
The 150 staff working on the brand, as well as the factory at Pacy, where most of them work, would transfer to the buyer.
There is no comment as to a new owner yet, but it would suit an active exporter, since Boursin is shipped to 35 markets abroad, including the US, just-food was told.
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By GlobalDataUnilever sees a bright future for the 50-year-old brand. “We think that Boursin and its team will develop well as part of a firm which will work to grow this iconic brand.”
The disposal is part of Unilever’s restructuring plan.
In August, Unilever, the maker of brands including Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr soups, told just-food that planned job cuts of around 20,000 would be of “greater consequence” to its food business than its personal care division.
The company said that the cuts – around 11% of its workforce – would be focused on Europe.
Unilever is looking to “streamline or close down” up to 60 factories. It’s thought that some 40% of the job cuts are likely to be in production.
Unilever has recently announced job cuts in the Benelux, France and the UK, moves described as “the first wave” of the planned job losses.
The announcement of job cuts came as Unilever said it would also look to sell off businesses worth EUR2bn (US$2.7bn).
