PepsiCo to sell Marmite and Bovril brands
PepsiCo SA is selling its popular Marmite and Bovril brands in SA, along with the business unit that produces them, to a privately owned Canadian-based company called Lallemand.
Lallemand, which is pursuing the transaction through its SA affiliate Rymco, which owns Anchor Yeast, will acquire the two household brands along with PepsiCo's Savoury Food Ingredients business unit.
News24 reports that the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is subject to approval from SA's competition authority.
Lallemand, which has a presence in more than 50 countries, is also involved in the biofuels and distilled spirits sectors, along with crop protection, nutrition and brewing sectors. It operates more than 50 production plants and has about 5 500 employees.
Apart from producing Marmite and Bovril for SA consumers, PepsiCo's Savoury Food business produces brewer's yeast extract and hydrolysed vegetable protein-based flavourings, which is used by both SA manufacturers and international customers.
PepsiCo SA told News24 that Pioneer had held a licence from British multinational consumer goods group Unilever to produce Marmite and Bovril in SA since 2004.
It said the sale was part of an ‘ongoing refocus on the optimisation’ of its portfolio brands.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
