IN further evidence of the struggling plant-based protein movement, UK-based global processed food and consumer goods giant Unilever is looking for a buyer for its much-touted Vegetarian Butcher division.

Sky News and other business media have reported that the consumer goods giant has recruited investment banker Piper Sandler to run an auction for the sale of the Dutch-based vegan meat business. Industry sources suggested a number of potential buyers had already been approached.

The sale attempt comes just six years after Unilever bought the Vegetarian Butcher brand, and is the latest move in Unilever’s bid to streamline its focus on its core group of international mega-brands.

Reuters earlier this month reported that Unilever was looking to offload other Dutch food brands manufacturing soups and seasonings, as part of the ongoing turnaround at the group.

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher confirmed last week during a shareholders’ and analysts’ briefing that plans to prune the company’s vast portfolio of food brands would be considered.

Unilever acquired the Vegetarian Butcher business in 2019, as the hype around plant-based food gathered momentum.

The Vegetarian Butcher is one of the leading plant-based businesses globally. Products like no-meat meatballs, burger patties, mince, chunks and sausages are sold through UK national supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Ocado, as well as across Europe. Today, its products are available in 55 countries and more than 40,000 retail locations, alongside a large food service customer-base including Burger King (the equivalent of Australia’s Hungry Jack’s) in Europe and Asia.

“Buying Vegetarian Butcher was a classic case of jumping on a popular bandwagon, but that bandwagon doesn’t look quite as exciting any more,” a UK finance industry source told local media.

“It’s a good brand and doing better than others in the category, but the sector as a whole is struggling to find its feet. There are lots of examples of where Unilever has overpaid (for companies) and the results have under-delivered. The future for those brands under Unilever ownership will be very uncertain,” he said.

There has been a string high-profile failures in the plant-based meat space in Europe during 2024, including Meatless Farm and Allplants, which recently filed for administration having burned through almost A$140 million in investors’ funds.

Unilever’s food business is second only to its personal care segment, and has racked up €9.9 billion in turnover in the first nine months of 2024. The two largest brands, Knorr and Hellmann’s, account for 60pc of that.

Unilever is also considering selling its global ice cream division, which includes Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, both well-known in Australia.

Earlier, Unilever set a goal to reach €1.5B in annual sales from ‘plant-based products in categories that would have traditionally used animal-derived ingredients’ by 2025.