ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unilever announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire OLLY Nutrition, a premium U.S.-based wellbeing business in the vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) category.
Based in San Francisco, California (U.S.), OLLY Nutrition was co-founded in 2014 by Eric Ryan, who also previously co-founded home and personal care products company method®. Established as a B Corp, OLLY Nutrition’s mission is to make nutrition delightfully easy as it believes good health is the foundation of happiness. OLLY is known for its gummy vitamins and supplements, and also sells protein powders and snack bars.
“We are delighted to welcome OLLY Nutrition to our portfolio of brands. OLLY is a strong, innovative brand in the fast-growing health and wellbeing space, and nicely complements our businesses in Beauty & Personal Care and Foods & Refreshment. OLLY’s focus on making nutrition delightfully easy aligns closely with Unilever values and our continued commitment to improving people’s wellbeing,” said Amanda Sourry, President of Unilever North America.
Eric Ryan, co-founder of OLLY, stated: “We are thrilled to work with Unilever to grow the OLLY brand and amplify our mission, culture and commitment to helping people feel happy inside out.”
OLLY will continue to be based in San Francisco and managed by Eric Ryan, who will assume the role of Chief Growth Officer, exploring further opportunities in the health and wellbeing area; and Gerry Chesser, current COO of OLLY, who will take on the role as CEO of OLLY.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
For more information on Unilever North America and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com.
About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United States and Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington’s, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TAZO, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan underpins the company’s strategy and commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
Cautionary Statement
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ‘will’, ‘aim’, ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’, ‘looks’, ‘believes’, ‘vision’, or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Unilever Group (the ‘Group’). They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are: Unilever’s global brands not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever’s ability to innovate and remain competitive; Unilever’s investment choices in its portfolio management; inability to find sustainable solutions to support long-term growth including to plastic packaging; the effect of climate change on Unilever’s business; significant changes or deterioration in customer relationships; the recruitment and retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply chain and distribution; increases or volatility in the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe and high quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure; execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business transformation projects; economic, social and political risks and natural disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters.
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Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Annual Report on Form 20-F 2018 and the Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2018.
