Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer foods business, has continued its programme of disposals of non-core units with the sale of its US-based Iberia Foods unit to the Brooklyn Bottling Group.
Iberia Foods specialises in distributing food and household products to more than 3,000 supermarkets, club stores, wholesalers and distributors serving the massive Hispanic American market, and last year had sales of $43 million (€42.8m).
It sells a wide range of products, including those under its own brand name plus other Unilever favourites such as Knorr and Maizena and third-party brands such as Quaker Spanish Brands, Fruta Viva, Choco Listo and Corona Colombian Chocolates.
BBG is the producer and marketer of a number of soft drink brands, including Nature's Own, Squeez'r, Apple Dandy and Tropical Fantasy, but it also markets a number of third party brands such as D&G Jamaican sodas, Postobon sodas and juices from Colombia and County Club Sodas of the Dominican Republic.
After the acquisition closes, the Brooklyn Bottling Group will serve over 15,000 customers with the combined brand assets of its companies, and will continue to distribute some Unilever brands through Iberia.
Iberia Foods is an excellent fit with BBG, which also has a particular expertise in serving the Latin and Caribbean expatriate communities in the US. Iberia will become part of BBG's World Foods division, which imports and distributes leading brands from the Caribbean and Latin America, and will also benefit the company by complementing its current geographical spread - Iberia is strong in the south eastern USA, while, not surprisingly given its base in New York, BBG's stronghold is the north east.
The sale by Unilever is part of the company's Path to Growth strategy, a five-year strategic plan announced in February 2000 designed to accelerate top-line growth and further increase operating margins. The plan includes a series of initiatives to focus on fewer, stronger brands and businesses, and to promote faster growth.