Unilever to create separate entity for global tea business, but will retain India and Indonesia

Mumbai: Unilever said it will create a separate entity for its tea business globally but will exclude India and Indonesia business, as part of the review for the segment that began earlier this year.

"We will retain the tea businesses in India and Indonesia and the partnership interests in the ready-to-drink tea joint ventures. The balance of Unilever’s tea brands and geographies and all tea estates have an exciting future, and this potential can best be achieved as a separate entity," said Unilever in a statement.

In January, Unilever announced a strategic review of its global tea business, which includes leading brands such as Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips. The strategic review of the tea business, which clocked about $3.3 billion in sales last year, came after the company posted its slowest quarterly growth in a decade. The volume of tea sales declined due to subdued consumer demand for black tea in developed markets.


"A process will now begin to implement the separation, which is expected to conclude by the end of 2021. The tea business that will be separated generated revenues of $2.3 billion in 2019," Unilever said.

Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit is the market leader in India, controlling more than a fifth of the country’s tea segment. Tea in India is still a growing segment and is one of the largest within HUL’s food and refreshment business.