KKR Explores $10B Sale of Flora Food Group After Ditching Plant-Based Promise
US investment firm KKR is exploring a $10B sale of Flora Food Group, the spreads business it acquired from Unilever in 2018, after abandoning a plan to make its entire offering plant-based.
The company behind Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Butter! and Violife is being floated for a sale worth as much as $10B, according to the Financial Times.
New York-based investment firm KKR is exploring a sale of Flora Food Group (formerly Upfield), after a revival in dairy demand led the company to forego its promise to turn its entire portfolio plant-based, according to the Financial Times.
It comes more than eight years after KKR purchased the spreads business from Unilever for $8B in a hotly contested auction, and potentially marks the latest instance of consolidation in the future food sector.
A rich history with leading brands and billions in turnover
Flora Food Group is a key cog in the history of one of the world’s foremost CPG companies. Its roots date back over 150 years to the company that popularised margarine. Dutch industrialist Antoon Jurgens bought the margarine patent from its founder in 1871, and after a series of mergers, his company evolved into Margarine Unie in 1927.
Two years later, Margarine Unie joined forces with soap maker Lever Brothers to form Unilever, which went on to become the multinational behemoth it is today.
As margarine started falling out of favour for butter – a trend reflected in Unilever’s bottom line – the British company faced an (ultimately aborted) takeover attempt by Kraft Heinz in 2017. Soon after, to boost its returns, Unilever placed the spreads division – which represented 7% of its business – on the market.
The move fuelled a bidding war among prospective buyers, including Apollo Global Management, CVC Capital Partners and Bain Capital; KKR eventually emerged with the winning offer.
Flora Food Group (formerly Upfield) owns some of the world’s largest alternative dairy brands. For instance, Violife holds 22% of the European market share for vegan cheese and is the leader in the US as well.
The business also houses its namesake Flora brand, olive oil maker Bertolli, as well as non-dairy cream, butter and margarine labels Country Crock, Elmlea, Becel, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Rama and Stork. Plus, it has an ongoing partnership with Gordon Ramsay.
Despite a correction in the plant-based market, Flora Food Group’s turnover has remained steady. It generated €3B in net sales last year, with a 1% compound annual growth rate between 2019 and 2025.
However, it is highly indebted, with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of about 7.5x, according to Fitch Ratings analysis cited by the Financial Times. EBITDA is a measure of revenue that excludes all non-operational and one-time expenses.
US sales buck plant-based dairy trend, but consolidation remains rampant
KKR is reportedly working with investment bankers on a potential sale of the business, which could attract interest from other private equity groups.
It comes after Flora Food Group failed to live up to its 2021 pledge to make its entire portfolio free from animal products by 2025 – it has flip-flopped on the use of dairy ingredients in its margarines over the years, and sources told the Financial Times that it has now added dairy back to some of its products.
The report cited the dairy resurgence as one of the factors influencing KKR’s decision. The top seven dairy exporters produced 2.5% more milk in 2025, and the US alone saw a 15% growth in dairy exports. Here, new dietary guidelines and the MAHA movement have put whole milk back in the spotlight, and sales rose by 4% to surpass $20B.
Conversely, plant-based alternatives continued to struggle from the post-pandemic correction. Retail purchases of non-dairy milk fell by 2% last year, with butter (-4%) and cheese (-10%) faring even worse.
This isn’t a reflection of the global picture. Dairy-free products lead the international plant-based market with a 78.5% share, with sales hitting $22.7B in 2025. That’s a 2% increase in value from 2024, while volumes flatlined.
KKR’s potential offloading of Flora Food Group reflects the widespread consolidation in the alternative protein industry recently. Green Queen analysis shows that over 70 businesses in the sector have merged, been acquired or bought out, fallen into insolvency, or ceased operations since September 2024.
Some of the most notable deals include Unilever’s sale of The Vegetarian Butcher to JBS-owned Vivera, Livekindly Collective’s acquisition of Tindle Foods’s US, UK and German business, Chobani’s takeover of Daily Harvest, and Danone’s purchase of Kate Farms and Huel.
Time will tell if Flora Food Group joins that list, and what it would mean for its plant-based promises.