Unilever considers selling its tea brands

Unilever (LSE: UL) is considering a sale of its tea business, which generates annual sales of around €3 billion and includes the Lipton and PG Tips brands.

Why it matters: Tea, and black tea in particular, has become the latest victim of changing consumer tastes.

• History: Unilever has owned Lipton since 1971 and became a leader in tea-crazed Great Britain 13 years later by purchasing Brooke Bond.
• The bottom line: "Unilever executives said the tea business was a similar size, and had comparable geographic reach, to the spreads division it sold for about $8 billion in 2018. The company hopes the tea business will draw interest from other tea makers looking to cut costs in what is a highly fragmented market." — Saabira Chaudhuri, WSJ

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