Flora Food Group facts for kids
Flora Food Group B.V. is a big food company from the Netherlands. It owns many popular brands of margarine, food spreads, and plant-based foods. Some of its well-known brands include Flora and Blue Band. The company says it's the largest plant-based food company in the world, selling its products in 95 different countries.
This company used to be part of a much larger company called Unilever. In 2018, it was sold to an investment firm named Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and was first called Upfield. Later, in September 2024, its name changed to Flora Food Group.
 |
|
|
Formerly
|
Upfield B.V. (2018–2024) |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Consumer goods |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | 2018 (by spin-off) |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters |
,
Netherlands
|
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
David Haines (CEO) |
| Products | Margarines, spreads |
| Owner | Kohlberg Kravis Roberts |
Contents
Company History
How Margarine Began
Margarine was one of the very first products sold by the company that later became Unilever. In 1871, Antoon Jurgens from the Netherlands bought the special recipe for making margarine. He got it from its inventor, Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès.
Over time, Jurgens' company joined with others. In 1927, it became a big group called Margarine Unie. Then, in 1929, it merged again to form Unilever. Since then, Unilever added many other margarine and food spread brands to its collection.
Changes in Sales
Even though Unilever's food spreads division made good money, sales started to drop in the 2000s. This happened because many people began choosing butter instead of margarine. For example, between 2009 and 2014, margarine sales went down by 6%, while butter sales went up by 7%.
Selling the Spreads Division
In February 2017, another company tried to buy Unilever. After this, Unilever's boss, Paul Polman, promised investors he would make the company more profitable. So, in April 2017, Unilever decided to sell its margarine and spreads business. The plan was to give the money from the sale back to its shareholders.
Many investment companies wanted to buy this part of Unilever. In December 2017, Unilever accepted an offer of €6.8 billion from KKR. The sale was completed in July 2018. The brands sold were about 7% of Unilever's total business around the world.
Focus on Plant-Based Foods
After margarine sales continued to fall, the company started to focus more on "plant-based" foods in the summer of 2020. They also talked about how these products are better for the environment. The company announced it would invest €50 million to build a new research center for plant-based products. This center opened at the end of 2021.
In January 2020, the company bought Violife, a brand that makes plant-based cheese. The company, originally named Upfield, officially changed its name to Flora Food Group in September 2024.
Company Leadership
David Haines became the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the company in July 2018. He used to be a director at a tobacco company called Imperial Brands. Other important leaders of the company are listed on the Flora Food Group website.
Products and Operations
Well-Known Brands
Flora Food Group owns many famous brands. These include:
- Flora, a popular margarine.
- Violife, a range of vegan cheese products from Thessaloniki, Greece.
- Country Crock, which makes margarines and spreads.
- Rama, a margarine and cooking cream brand, popular in Germany.
- Blue Band, known for margarines and vegetable fat spreads.
- I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, a spread made from vegetable oil.
- Becel, a brand of plant-based margarines.
- ProActiv, a special sub-brand of Becel.
- Lätta, a margarine brand sold in Sweden and Germany.
- Bertolli, a brand of Italian food products. Flora Food Group makes a Bertolli olive oil spread.
- Elmlea, a range of cream alternatives made from buttermilk and vegetable oil.
- Fruit d'Or, a margarine.
- Planta Fin, another margarine brand.
- Stork (margarine).
- Delma, a margarine brand.
- Minyak Samin Cap Onta, sold only in Indonesia.
- Frytol, a solid vegetable oil, also only in Indonesia.
- Tulipãn, plant-based margarines sold in Spain.
In southern Africa, a company called Siqalo Foods, owned by Remgro, has the rights to sell some of these brands instead of Flora Food Group.
Factory Changes
After Flora Food Group (then Upfield) became separate from Unilever in 2018, a factory in Purfleet-on-Thames, England, was closed. This meant about 200 employees lost their jobs. The company said the factory was not performing well and cost too much to run.
In June 2020, it was announced that the factory in Helsingborg, Sweden, would move its production to other countries. About 80 employees were told their jobs would end. The making of cheese and dairy products was planned to move to a factory in Kleve, Germany, by February 2021. On February 19, 2025, a local Swedish newspaper reported that the Helsingborg factory would close completely after almost 50 years. This factory had been making margarine products like Lätta, Becel, and Flora since 1968. About 62 employees were directly affected by this decision. At its busiest, the factory employed around 500 people.
In 2020, buttermilk was added to the Flora Buttery product made in the UK, making it no longer vegan. However, in October 2023, both buttermilk and palm oil were removed from this product again.
In March 2021, Flora Food Group announced that its factory in Rotterdam, Netherlands, would close in mid-2022. In November 2021, Flora Food Group bought Unilever's production factory in Cali, Colombia. This factory makes Rama, Violife, and Blue Band products.
Images for kids
-
Original logo as Upfield
-
A veggieburger with Violife vegan cheese
