It is the first joint venture between the two companies in Spain.
Mars Iberia, the company’s local subsidiary, said the deal will allow it increase its presence at points of sale. It suggests the agreement will lead to it tripling its ice-cream sales in the market this year.
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Unilever, which owns the Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum ice cream brands, now becomes the official distributor of Snickers, Twix and Mars ice-cream bars in Spain, as well as stick ice creams under the M&M’s and Maltesers brands. The agreement includes both traditional establishments, such as convenience stores, hospitality and service stations, as well as large retail outlets supplied by Unilever.
Mars will continue to manufacture the ice-cream products targeted at the Spanish market from its facility in neighbouring France.
Rez Hassan, managing director of Mars Iberia, said: “The ice-cream category is one of the categories with the most potential in our portfolio.
He added: “For this reason, this agreement with Unilever represents an even greater opportunity to boost our growth thanks to its resources and logistical capacity that will allow us to reach more points of sale with our wide variety of flavours “.
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By GlobalDataJavier Mon, foods and refreshment VP of Unilever’s local arm Unilever Spain, said: “This alliance will improve our value proposition to our customers and will reinforce our purpose of inspiring moments of happiness to the Spanish consumer with a very varied offer. We are delighted to go hand in hand with a great company like Mars, which has leading brands on the minds of our consumers.”
Until now, Mars ice-cream products have been distributed in Spain by local ice-cream business Lacrem.
