Unilever is mulling the future of cooking sauces brands Chicken Tonight and Ragu as the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate continues to revamp its food portfolio.
The company is considering whether to offload Chicken Tonight and sell the rights to the Ragu brand in the UK. Unilever would keep the rights to the Ragu brand internationally.
“Unilever UK & Ireland is assessing its strategic options for our Chicken Tonight and Ragu brands,” the company told just-food today (29 September). “We regularly evaluate the performance of our brands in the marketplace and we will consider all options when reviewing their future. It is business as usual while this review takes place.”
Speculation over the future of the brands comes as Unilever, which also operates in the home and personal-care sectors, continues to tweak its food business.
In July, for instance, Unilever sold its Findus Italy frozen-food business to Birds Eye Iglo.
However, in the meantime, the company continues to build its ice-cream business, a sector in which it is market leader. Last month, Unilever bought Danish ice-cream firm Diplom-Is and yesterday it struck a deal to buy brands owned by Greek ice-cream maker EVGA.
Food accounts for over half of Unilever’s annual revenues but the group is expanding its non-food business. On Monday, the group announced plans to buy US firm Alberto Culver, which makes shampoo brands Tresemme and VO5.
