Unilever plans to sell Iberia Foods Corp.
Iberia Foods Corp., which has annual sales over U.S. $40 million, services more than 3,000 supermarket chains, club stores, wholesalers and distributors with products orientated toward the tastes and needs of Hispanic Americans, one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population.
The company distributes a mix of Iberia-branded products including rice, canned and bagged beans, olives, canned seafood and meats, all manufactured by copackers. In addition, Iberia distributes Unilever Bestfoods' Knorr and Maizena products from Latin America in the U.S. and has exclusive rights to distribute certain leading food and consumer goods brands from Puerto Rico, Spain, Colombia and Venezuela.
Neil Beckerman, President and CEO of Unilever Bestfoods North America said: ``Iberia is well-positioned, both in terms of geography and focus, to take advantage of the continuing growth of the Hispanic-American market. However, as a distribution business it does not fit within our strategic plan.''
Unilever is selling the business, which it acquired as part of its merger with Bestfoods in October 2000, as part of its strategy to concentrate on its leading brands that include Ragu, Hellmann's and Lipton foods as well as Dove, Suave and Wisk home and personal care products.
Iberia is concentrated in New York City and Miami, but distributes throughout the East Coast of the U.S. The company employs some 84 people at offices in Moonachie, New Jersey, and Miami, Florida.
UNILEVER BACKGROUND: Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately $46 billion in 2000. It produces and markets a wide range of foods and home and personal care products. Unilever operates in 88 countries around the globe and employs approximately 300,000 people.
In the United States, Unilever sales were approximately $11 billion in 2000. It employs some 28,000 people and has 80 offices and manufacturing sites in 26 states. Some of their major products are: Unilever Bestfoods - North America: Lipton teas, soups, recipe products and side dishes; Wish-Bone salad dressings; Lawry's seasonings; Country Crock spreads; Ragu pasta sauces; Knorr soups, sauces and bouillons; Hellmann's mayonnaise and dressings; Skippy peanut butter; Bertolli Olive Oil; Good-Humor, Breyers and Ben & Jerry's ice cream products; and Slim-Fast nutritional and health snack products. Unilever Home and Personal Care - North America: Wisk, ``all'' and Surf laundry detergents; Snuggle fabric softener; Sunlight dish detergents; Lever 2000, Caress, Dove, Degree, Pond's and Vaseline skin care, deodorant and soap products; Q-tips cotton swabs; Mentadent oral care products; Salon Selectives, Suave and ThermaSilk hair care products; and Calvin Klein, Nautica and Lagerfeld cosmetic and fragrance products. In addition, DiverseyLever, a global professional cleaning business, operates in North America, supplying professional cleaning materials and services to institutional and industrial markets.
Source: Unilever