According to reporting by Sky News, Unilever is working with investment bank Piper Sandler to find a buyer for the meat alternatives brand.
Sources told Sky News that a number of potential buyers have been approached in order to gauge interest in a potential deal, although the value of The Vegetarian Butcher remains “unclear”.
The Vegetarian Butcher was founded in the Netherlands in 2010 by Jaap Korteweg, a farmer who decided to develop plant-based meat alternatives after becoming a vegetarian.
The brand was acquired by Unilever in 2018 and its range of meat-free products are now stocked in leading retailers across the UK including Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
However, Unilever is now refocusing on its biggest assets, with chief executive Hein Schumacher telling investors that he plans “prune” the company’s portfolio of food brands.
Steps towards spinning out the Unilever ice cream division – which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Magnum – into a standalone began earlier this year, with that process expected to conclude by the end of 2025.
During the company’s Q3 financial results announcement on 24 October, Schumacher said: “As part of the group’s overall transformation, we are implementing a comprehensive productivity programme and the separation of [the ice cream division], both of which are progressing as planned.”
Unilever declined to comment when approached by Food Manufacture.
Meanwhile, Unilever has completed a five-year £40m investment project at its largest UK food factory in Burton.
