Ultimately, Unilever’s decision to get rid of spreads (Blue Band and other brands) all boils down to the comeback of butter and the downfall of margarine as the king of health.
Unilever’s spreads business includes two of America’s leading margarine brands, Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, among other major global brands such as Becel, Blue Band, Dorina, Flora, Psychka and Rama.
While margarine was a sensation that took off in the 1950s, by the end of the ’90s the alternative butter and fats segment was hit with rapidly declining sales. In Unilever’s 2016 annual report, the firm stated, “modest growth in emerging markets was offset by the continued but slowing decline in developed markets.”
Who killed margarine?
For decades, Unilever benefited from an overall medical consensus indicated that butter was a serious health risk and that margarine was not. In the recent decade or two, this idea has been pretty much debunked by the scientific community, despite Unilever’s ongoing war with a resurgent King Butter. “Butter kills,” Unilever’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman warned in 2010.
A recent Bloomberg report, quoting New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle, suggests margarine has actually “become a marker for cheap, processed, artificial, unhealthy food.” Coupled with a rise in health-consciousness and millennials’ fondness for premium foods, it’s no surprise Unilever’s spreads segments is first to go after its efforts to prove itself as a standalone company. (investopedia.com)
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