Under the plan, called Project Chrysalis, the iconic British brands Marmite, Pot Noodle, Peperami and Bovril will be run from a business unit in Rotterdam.
The activity has led commentators to speculate that Unilever is to divest itself of the brands, some of which also hail from France and Germany. Unilever's policy has traditionally focused on marketing products in their country of origin.
The brands sit uneasily within the One Unilever plan, under which the company has moved from autonomous localised initiatives to the roll-out of innovation and marketing programmes on a global basis.
As a result of this, Unilever has already sold a number of businesses to concentrate on big global brands such as Dove, Knorr and Lynx/Axe.
A Unilever spokesman said that Project Chrysalis was an attempt to provide specialist support for its 'local jewels', and an imminent sell-off was not the reason behind the venture.
Alex Molloy, an analyst at Credit Suisse, claimed Project Chrysalis did not fit into Unilever's broader strategy, as the brands involved are 'not relevant across borders'.
Molloy added that the economic downturn was likely to have been a motivating factor for the company. 'Eighteen moths ago, these brands might have been sold to a private equity or a trade buyer,' he said.
Unilever's total spend on the Marmite, Bovril, Peperami and Pot Noodle brands in 2007 was £6.7m.
Separated brands
- Pot Noodle recorded value sales of £70.6m in the year to October 2007.
- Peperami is pushing its Lunchbox Minis through a TV and direct campaign.
- Marmite's 'You either love it or hate it' positioning has entered the public consciousness, and the term 'the Marmite effect' is now commonly used.
- Bovril was invented to feed Napoleon's troops on the Russian front in 1886.
- Source: Nielsen Media Research
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