Unilever has put Colman’s Mustard up for sale as it prepares to merge its foods arm with American food giant McCormick in a deal reported to be worth £48bn. The move is aimed at heading off competition concerns before the two companies combine.
A Unilever spokesperson said: “A decision has been taken to market the Colman’s brand and assets to potential buyers in order to proactively seek to address potential competition concerns from the planned combination of Unilever Foods and McCormick.”
Why the Sale Is Happening Now
The sale is directly tied to the proposed merger between Unilever Foods and McCormick. Because McCormick already owns French’s, one of the world’s biggest rival mustard brands, selling off Colman’s appears to be a step toward satisfying regulators before the wider deal can go ahead.
The company has not given a public timeline for how long the sale process will take. A Unilever spokesperson said only that discussions were ongoing and that operations were continuing as usual in the meantime.
What Else Is Changing
Colman’s is not the only brand on the move as part of the wider tie-up. Under the deal, McCormick is set to take control of household names including Hellmann’s, Marmite, Knorr and Pot Noodle. Unilever, meanwhile, will shift its focus to home and personal care, keeping brands such as Dove, Persil and Lynx.
A Norwich Institution
Colman’s has been closely tied to Norfolk since Jeremiah Colman founded the company in 1814 at Stoke Holy Cross. Production later moved to Carrow in 1858, where it remained for 160 years.
Beyond mustard-making, the firm was known for a “cradle-to-grave” approach to its workforce, providing education, housing, healthcare and leisure facilities for employees and their families. A school for workers’ children was built on Carrow Hill in 1864, and the company even supplied coffins for workers and their families. It also built a series of terrace houses said to have doors painted mustard yellow.
The End of Norwich Production
Unilever announced in January 2018 that it would close the Carrow plant. The last jar of mustard came off the production line there in 2019, and the factory itself closed in 2020. Manufacturing was shifted to Burton-on-Trent and to Germany.
The 42-acre (17-hectare) Carrow site has stood empty since the closure and has been earmarked for thousands of new homes.
Despite the factory’s closure, Colman’s Norwich links have not disappeared entirely. Condimentum, based at the Food Enterprise Park in Easton near Norwich, has continued producing the raw material for the Colman’s brand, keeping a thread of the company’s local legacy alive.
What Happens Next
For now, the sale process and the broader Unilever-McCormick merger remain in motion, with Unilever describing talks as ongoing. No further detail has been given on when a buyer for Colman’s might be found or when the wider merger is expected to complete.