Symington’s, a leading convenience food manufacturer in the UK, has entered into an agreement with Unilever to license Unilever’s wet sauces portfolio in Australia and New Zealand.
Under the agreement, Symington's will license three brands from Unilever; Chicken Tonight, Raguletto and Five Brothers. The three brands will continue to be produced at Unilever's factory in Victoria, Australia.
The deal marks Symington's first major international foray and allows the company to build on its build on its UK track record of success in reintroducing these brands to retail customers and consumers.
For the new venture, Symington's will be establishing a subsidiary office in Melbourne to oversee the Australian wet sauces portfolio. In addition, the Melbourne based team will grow Symington's convenience foods business, both branded and private label in Australia.
Symington's chief executive David Salkeld said, "This venture will allow Symington's to do what it does best - invest in new products and brands and reintroduce them to consumers who can then enjoy them afresh.
"We have a great relationship with Unilever and are delighted to have the opportunity to do what we did for Chicken Tonight and Ragu in the UK with our retail customers and consumers 'down under'," Salkeld added.
In 2011, Symington's had licensed the Chicken Tonight and Ragu brands in UK. A series of new product launches as well as branding and marketing initiatives has boosted sales. Under Symington's, these brands have grown on average 15% year-on-year and helped strengthen the ambient sauces category, which is now worth £540m in the UK.
Symington's performance has most recently been recognized by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA). It recently named David Salkeld, CEO of the Year for the North East.
In addition, the company was the regional winner of the Large Buyout Management Team of the Year which recognizes a management team's outstanding contribution to the growth of the company over the course of the past year, demonstrating strategic vision and overall development of the business.
The BVCA Management Team Awards, produced in partnership with Clearwater Corporate Finance, are a year-long process of nominations and judging established to celebrate the achievements of private equity and venture capital-backed companies.
