Unilever Buys Premium Italian Ice Cream Brand Grom

   By Saabira Chaudhuri 
 

LONDON--Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) has bought premium Italian ice cream brand Grom, adding to a string of deals the consumer goods company has recently struck as it attempts to reshuffle its mix of brands.

Unilever's acquisition of Grom--which has over 60 gelato stores around the world and describes itself as using no flavorings, colors, preservatives or emulsifiers--comes after the company in December bought Talenti, a Minneapolis-based ice cream company that makes flavors like Sea Salt Caramel and Sicilian Pistachio.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The company has been working to improve margins in its ice cream unit by launching extensions of its Magnum and Ben & Jerry's ranges and focusing on targeting customers for out-of-home occasions, where they are more likely to spend money on expensive ice cream than when in a supermarket.

In addition to ice cream, Unilever has been pushing aggressively into the more upscale range of skincare products. Since March it has bought four premium skin-care brands--Murad, Dermalogica, Kate Somerville and REN--that sell at drugstores and specialty-retail locations like professional salons and spas. Last year, the consumer-goods giant created a prestige division, which sells high-end cosmetics and personal-care products.

Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2015 11:57 ET (15:57 GMT)

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