Candy Kittens takes a bite as Unilever slims down

Unilever’s sale of Graze to Katjes International, parent of Candy Kittens, is another clear sign that Unilever, the FMCG giant, is divesting its non-core food assets to focus on home and personal care (following the purchase of brands such as Wild in April and Dr Squatch announced in June). Reports indicate a price for Graze markedly below prior expectations and far south of the c.£150m Unilever paid in 2019, possibly underlining how tough the healthy snacking space has been to scale inside. The move, as part of its Growth Action Plan 2030, follows wider talk of potential divestments of heritage UK food names such as Marmite, Bovril and Colman’s, and sits alongside Unilever’s plan to concentrate its Foods section on condiments, cooking aids and other packaged products. In short, as consumer habits shift, Unilever continues to ensure the portfolio remains relevant and revenue generating. This now includes the future of Graze, which Unilever state will be “better realised under new ownership”.

For Katjes and Candy Kittens, Graze slots neatly into a challenger-led snacking house with overlapping consumers and a license to push faster on innovation and brand-building. Candy Kittens has been open about wanting to be the “Unilever of challenger brands” — this deal will now test that ambition and signals further consolidation in UK snacking. It will now be interesting to watch whether focused owners can grow Graze faster than a big FMCG entity, whether lower valuations will spark more brand sell-offs and how much this deal indicates a changing of habits around health and the UK snack aisle as a whole.