Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Unilever NV acquires Ingman Ice Cream in Finland, the company said in an e-mailed statement sent by PR firm Hill & Knowlton .

Ingman Ice Cream has about 700 workers with units in Sipoo, Finland, Aahus in Sweden, Mazeikia in Lithuania and Gomel in Belarus. It had 70 million euros ($95 million) in sales last year. The deal requires competition authority approvals, according to the statement.

Source: Businessweek

Companies Ingman Ice Cream, Unilever

Unilever said its deal with leading supplier, Unimills, for segregated certified sustainable palm oil represents a small start for the Dutch food and personal care group but takes the company in the right direction in terms of its 2015 total palm oil usage sourcing pledge.

Gavin Neath, senior vice president of sustainability at Unilever said the company was not willing to disclose the precise volumes of segregated palm oil that the food group was sourcing from Unimills but he stressed that Unilever was now ahead of its plan to derive all of its palm oil from Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified plantations within a five year timeframe.

He told this publication that this goal was achievable, particularly now as agricommodity giants Cargill along with Unimills and another leading supplier, IOI, have been landing segregated certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in Rotterdam.

“We expect an acceleration in the quantities of CSPO coming onto the market, as these companies now recognise the industry demand for this form of the ingredient,” added Neath.

Unimills sources the CSPO for Unilever from its parent company, Sime Darby, whose plantations in Malaysia are RSPO backed.

The CSPO is processed into specialty fats that are then sent to Unilever for use in its food or personal care range.

Neath said that a great percentage of the snack, margarine and soup mix manufacturer’s products contained the oil, but he would not be drawn on exact figures. Industry experts estimate that around one third of all food and personal care items sold in supermarkets contain the controversial ingredient.

There are serious concerns about the effect of the palm oil industry on the environment, as intensive plantations have cleared habitats for endangered species like tigers and orangutans in South Asia, while also adding to carbon emissions.

When asked by this publication if Unilever had a strategy in place to reformulate its products to allow for a reduction in the amount of palm oil used by the company, Neath stressed that the ingredient offered unmatched cost efficiencies compared to other vegetable oils and the food group was intent on continuing to use it.

“Palm oil can be six to ten times more productive than sunflower oil, and if it is cultivated correctly it can be a sustainable crop. That is what we, and our partners in the RSPO, are working towards,” he explained.

The RSPO was set up in 2004 to promote sustainable palm oil use – and changing to palm oil that is sustainable or supports green palm certification has become a major trend for food manufacturers and retailers.

UK advocates Sustain said that it is good news that multinationals have at last started to acknowledge that some palm oil production is the result of rainforest devastation but Greenpeace and others have raised concerns that the RSPO mark is not yet a guarantee that palm oil will have come from a truly sustainable source.

According to Neath, the RSPO, of which Unilever is a founding member, makes every effort to ensure that it can stand over its certification of a palm oil producer as sustainable, but he concurs that there is an element of truth in the NGOs’ view of the organisation as not being as efficient as it could be.

However, he said that, currently it is the only institution of its type that exists and it is beholden on Unilever and its partners to make the RSPO more rigorous.

“It takes a while for a strong infrastructure to be built up in an organisation such as this,” argues Neath. “It is important to remember that it was only the back end of 2008 that the RSPO was able to certify the first batch of CSPO. Now it is certifiying segregated sustainable palm oil in the region of two million tonnes,” he continued.

Sime Darby acting president and group CEO, Dato Mohd Bakke, said that to date 15 of its strategic operating units have been awarded the RSPO certification, and that these have the capacity to produce over 500,000 tonnes of CSPO.

Source: Food Navigator

Ingredients palm oil, Unilever, Unimills

Unilever said its deal with leading supplier, Unimills, for segregated certified sustainable palm oil represents a small start for the Dutch food and personal care group but takes the company in the right direction in terms of its 2015 total palm oil usage sourcing pledge.

Gavin Neath, senior vice president of sustainability at Unilever said the company was not willing to disclose the precise volumes of segregated palm oil that the food group was sourcing from Unimills but he stressed that Unilever was now ahead of its plan to derive all of its palm oil from Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified plantations within a five year timeframe.

He told this publication that this goal was achievable, particularly now as agricommodity giants Cargill along with Unimills and another leading supplier, IOI, have been landing segregated certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in Rotterdam.

“We expect an acceleration in the quantities of CSPO coming onto the market, as these companies now recognise the industry demand for this form of the ingredient,” added Neath.

Unimills sources the CSPO for Unilever from its parent company, Sime Darby, whose plantations in Malaysia are RSPO backed.

The CSPO is processed into specialty fats that are then sent to Unilever for use in its food or personal care range.

Neath said that a great percentage of the snack, margarine and soup mix manufacturer’s products contained the oil, but he would not be drawn on exact figures. Industry experts estimate that around one third of all food and personal care items sold in supermarkets contain the controversial ingredient.

There are serious concerns about the effect of the palm oil industry on the environment, as intensive plantations have cleared habitats for endangered species like tigers and orangutans in South Asia, while also adding to carbon emissions.

When asked by this publication if Unilever had a strategy in place to reformulate its products to allow for a reduction in the amount of palm oil used by the company, Neath stressed that the ingredient offered unmatched cost efficiencies compared to other vegetable oils and the food group was intent on continuing to use it.

“Palm oil can be six to ten times more productive than sunflower oil, and if it is cultivated correctly it can be a sustainable crop. That is what we, and our partners in the RSPO, are working towards,” he explained.

The RSPO was set up in 2004 to promote sustainable palm oil use – and changing to palm oil that is sustainable or supports green palm certification has become a major trend for food manufacturers and retailers.

UK advocates Sustain said that it is good news that multinationals have at last started to acknowledge that some palm oil production is the result of rainforest devastation but Greenpeace and others have raised concerns that the RSPO mark is not yet a guarantee that palm oil will have come from a truly sustainable source.

According to Neath, the RSPO, of which Unilever is a founding member, makes every effort to ensure that it can stand over its certification of a palm oil producer as sustainable, but he concurs that there is an element of truth in the NGOs’ view of the organisation as not being as efficient as it could be.

However, he said that, currently it is the only institution of its type that exists and it is beholden on Unilever and its partners to make the RSPO more rigorous.

“It takes a while for a strong infrastructure to be built up in an organisation such as this,” argues Neath. “It is important to remember that it was only the back end of 2008 that the RSPO was able to certify the first batch of CSPO. Now it is certifiying segregated sustainable palm oil in the region of two million tonnes,” he continued.

Sime Darby acting president and group CEO, Dato Mohd Bakke, said that to date 15 of its strategic operating units have been awarded the RSPO certification, and that these have the capacity to produce over 500,000 tonnes of CSPO.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Companies, Ingredients segregated palm oil, Unilever, Unimills

Consumer goods giant Unilever has managed to break Nestle’s ice cream monopoly on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, it has been reported.

For 30 years, Nestle has been the sole seller of ice cream in the city’s public spaces but now, Unilever has been granted a license to sell its products in major sites around the city, reports the Rio Times.

Unilever owns Kibon and it currently has around a 70 per cent share of the ice cream market in the Brazilian capital but this could increase its share.

Recently, the consumer goods giant announced it would be running a marketing campaign in the UK with fashion retailer ASOS.

Called the Temptation 100 campaign, it will centre around a game featuring clothing items specially selected by ASOS’ fashion team and is the second drive by Unilever on the retail website in recent months.

The winner of the game will receive ASOS items and runners-up will take home discount vouchers for Magnum Temptation.

Companies, Ice Creams ice cream monopoly, Nestle, Unilever

The European Commission (EC) is reviewing consumer goods giant Unilever’s acquisition of the Personal Care and European Laundry business at Sara Lee.

Under the deal, Unilever will acquire more than 90 different brands from Sara Lee in 19 European countries.

These products include Radox, Brylcreem and Sanex.

However, the EC has said it needs “more time” to consider the full implications of the deal in terms of the competition aspect that could be affected by the takeover.

Unilever has said it “welcomes the opportunity to engage more fully with the commission’s competition authorities”.

Recently, Unilever has announced it is increasing the marketing of a number of the food and beverage products in its range.

It is launching a new innovative sampling campaign for Lipton Fruit and Herb Infusions, which is geared towards women aged between 25 and 35.

In the run-up to the summer, it is also set to give a major advertising boost to its ice cream Cornetto.

Cornetto is left lagging behind its sister brand Magnum in terms of sales, which has persuaded Unilever to increase Cornetto marketing, Marketing Week reported.

Companies European Commission, Sara Lee, Unilever

Food manufacturer Unilever has threatened that it may be forced to quit the UK under current financial conditions.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said that current business conditions, coupled with increasing taxes and regulations, meant the company could become “non-competitive” in the UK.

Mr Polman explained: “We do have choices where we put research laboratories, choices for manufacturing facilities and choices where we put our senior management. Any responsible businessman needs to continue to assess that within an everchanging global environment.”

It is thought that increasingly rates of corporation tax are driving companies abroad.

The news follows the release of Unilever’s end-of-year results which show sales growth of 3.5 per cent in 2009.

Commenting on the results, Mr Polman said that the company made progress in emerging markets and strengthened its volume growth in Western Europe.

“Our brands are stronger, driven by better quality innovation and a step-change in advertising and promotional expenditure,” he explained.

Companies Unilever