Unilever PLC has agreed to sell its Graze snack brand to Katjes International, the owner of the Candy Kittens confectionery line, for an undisclosed consideration. The deal, announced on December 1, 2025, is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
The transaction marks a continuation of Unilever’s portfolio rationalisation strategy, which has seen the company divest non‑core food assets and concentrate on its high‑growth beauty, wellbeing and personal‑care businesses. The sale also removes a food brand that has not delivered profitability under Unilever, allowing the company to reallocate capital and marketing resources toward its premium, technology‑driven brands and to accelerate the planned demerger of its ice‑cream division.
Katjes International views the acquisition as a strategic fit that expands its healthy‑snacking portfolio. The company already owns the fast‑growing Candy Kittens brand and sees Graze as a complementary addition that strengthens its presence in the better‑for‑you snack segment, which is experiencing robust consumer demand.
Graze’s performance under Unilever has been challenging. The brand recorded a loss of £8.7 million in the most recent year and its revenue fell nearly 10 percent, a sharp decline from the growth it enjoyed before the acquisition. The sale price, understood to be around £36 million (≈US$46 million), represents a significant discount to the £150 million price Unilever paid in 2019, underscoring the valuation erosion that prompted the divestiture.
The deal reflects broader industry trends in portfolio rationalisation and the shift toward healthier snack options. By bringing Graze under Katjes’ stewardship, the brand is positioned to benefit from focused investment in its core mission and from Katjes’ existing distribution and marketing capabilities in the confectionery space.
"Graze has transformed into a retail‑focused brand that continues to redefine healthy snacking with innovations that stay a step ahead on nutrition, never compromising on taste," said Georgina Bradford, UKI Foods General Manager at Unilever. "The brand is now well positioned for its next phase of growth, which we are confident will be best unlocked under its new ownership with dedicated focus on its healthier snacking mission." Bastian Fassin, Managing Shareholder of Katjes International, added, "With Candy Kittens we already have one of the fastest‑growing confectionery brands in the UK, and we are complementing this existing business with the acquisition of Graze, one of the leading healthy snacking brands in the UK."
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