| Topic: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 07/09/06 / Views : 9052 / Replies : | |
|  | reading in todays (Wed 19/4/06) The Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/19/nlinda19.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/19/ixhome.html
Linda McCartney's vegetarian food range could soon become the latest ethical business to sell out to Nestlé, one of the most boycotted companies in the world.
The ready meals brand, which was launched by Sir Paul McCartney's first wife 15 years ago, has been put up for sale by its owner, Heinz.
Heinz is understood to be in talks with the Israel-based vegetarian food company Tivall, which is partly owned by Nestlé.
If the sale goes ahead it would be the second blow to Britain's ethical consumers within a few weeks.
Last month Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, was criticised for agreeing to sell the company to L'Oréal, which is also partly owned by Nestlé.
Nestlé and Heinz are declining to comment on the sale, but a spokesman for Heinz said: "We continue to explore options to maximise the value of the frozen food business."
Linda McCartney, who died from breast cancer in 1998, was a committed vegetarian.
Her range of meat-free meals was an instant success on its launch in 1991 and quickly became the market leader.
Heinz won the licence to produce the range when it bought United Biscuits Frozen and Chilled Foods in 1998.
However, the fashion for fresh food has hit demand in the frozen market.
Heinz has been keen to sell off the division for some time. Last September, Heinz put its frozen food business, including the Linda McCartney range, on the market for around £200 million.
Tivall, which is based in northern Israel, makes most of the own-label vegetarian frozen meals for Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons.
It is a subsidiary of the Israeli food company Osem - in which Nestlé owns a 50.1 per cent stake.
Nestlé is one of the most boycotted companies in the UK.
Campaigners have claimed Nestlé is responsible for the "aggressive'' marketing of baby foods and powdered baby milk in the developing world and undermines the benefits of breast-feeding.
Nestlé denies aggressive marketing and insists it follows international guidelines on selling food and milk for babies.
Helen Middleton, from the Ethical Consumer magazine, said multinational companies were increasingly looking to adopt "green" brands that give them respectability.
"It is very difficult for the vast majority of consumers to keep on top of the ever-changing purchases and developments in the business world," she said.
According to a survey by YouGov, The Body Shop's reputation suffered after it was bought by L'Oréal in March for £652 million.
The Body Shop built up much of its customer base on the back of its opposition to animal testing.
L'Oréal, however, still uses ingredients that have been tested on animals "for safety reasons".
27 May 2002: Authors quit Hay-on-Wye festival over Nestlé links
8 June 2001: Roddick to make £43m from sale of Body Shop |
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| Reply #1: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 20/04/06 | |
| | | Nightmare, Mccartneys pies and sausages are great comfort food. I didn't know that Tivali were part owned by Nestle either. Have to make my own sausages from sosmix now!!! |
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| Reply #2: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 20/04/06 | |
 | | anonymous |
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| | Thanks for posting this VW. yet more depressing news!
I've been a little confused about the McCartney range - is it vegan/isn't it vegan?
Although they don't state it on the packet, it has been said that a number of the range is vegan. i.e. the sausage rolls, the sausages and the pies... but then again, I've heard that they may not be... to cut a long story short, I just avoid them altogether until I hear conclusivly one way or the other.
BUT if I did choose to believe they were vegan, I'd be thoroughly pi**ed off right about now!
I can't eat Tival anyway as the majority of their products have either milk or egg in, or in some case both...
Oh hum!
If any one out there wants to start a genuinly compassionate food and/or cosmetics company, do give me a shout... I think there may be a couple of openings in the market coming up... |
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| Reply #3: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 20/04/06 | |
| | | Linda McCartney pies and sausages are definitely vegan. First off they were then they weren't then last year they dropped either egg or milk from the production can't remember which but some of my friends who've been vegan for years had a pie party to celebrate. |
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| Reply #4: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 12/06/06 | |
| | | I'm fed up with all this 'ethical buisness' stuff. Owned first by Unilever, then heinz and with many non-vegan products, how can Linda McCartney company be an 'ethical buisness'? |
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| Reply #5: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 12/06/06 | |
| | I was just thinking about what you are saying.
Obviously everyone here wants to contribute the least they can to unethical practices.
I think everyone has a scale of comfort in buying products, e.g. Tesco = OK, despite getting £1 of every £10 spent in the UK by pushing out small businesses, selling meat and non-free range goods; Nestle = evil, avoid at all costs, etc.
Short of becoming a character from The Good Life, growing your own plants and living off them, then we won't ever get it right.
I'd love to do that but I just can't afford to! |
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| Reply #6: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 12/06/06 | |
| | It is a shame but often are we compelled to buy our soya in the Tesco!!It is horrible-but what to do, in a vegan family there is a great need of vegan products.Yes,when i have time i give out more money for vegan sausages in vegan-shops-but here in Hungary they are not everywhere!!
I am awfully sorry this McCartney problem!!!The world is turning to be an intolerable place.Earning our living we must work and cannot spend time in the garden...Tome Sik -this famous and excellent vegan was one of the most unique persons in the world.He used to have his own idea about self-supporting...but nobody followed him,not even me.He had a dream to buy fields and join with vegans...he was poor- but from free will as he did not want to serv this ill, cruel society.he never entered a shop...i am not a kind of greatness.BUT:if we shop in tesco that is a sign that we need vegan products, too.So they will order more and more... |
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| Reply #7: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 12/06/06 | |
| | anonymous |
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| | | That's a good point, but the popularity of veggie stuff has made the big boys look in our direction for another fast buck... |
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| Reply #8: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 13/06/06 | |
| | | ..? what do you mean with the the last sentence?i speak not so good English... |
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| Reply #9: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 13/06/06 | |
| | Hi Cathy2. Your English is much better than my Hungarian!
He's basically saying that big companies look at us vegans as a gap in the market. They must make a lot of money out of us. |
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| Reply #10: Re: McCartney vegetarian brand may be devoured by Nestle |
| Posted : 16/06/06 | |
| | GREAT NEWS REGARDING THE McCARTNEY FOOD RANGE
instead of been bought by a neslte company , it has instead been bought by an American Organic firm- see here for details.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1796733,00.html
Linda McCartney food empire sold
Katie Allen
Tuesday June 13, 2006
Linda McCartney's vegetarian empire has been bought by an American organic foods firm in a deal welcomed by her family as it seeks to continue her legacy.
The vegetarian frozen meals firm was set up in 1991 by the late first wife of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, and yesterday was sold by Heinz to Hain Celestial Group for an undisclosed sum. The McCartney family said it was delighted to be teaming up with Hain, which it described as "a leading light in organic, natural products".
We believe that the visions of both our companies fit perfectly with our desire to encourage more and more people to eat pure, vegetarian food," the family said in a statement.
Hain, which makes Soy Dream non-dairy drinks and Terra Chips gourmet crisps, said it hoped to expand the Linda McCartney business in Britain and Europe and throughout North America, where the range is already stocked by specialist food stores.
Heinz's disposal of the well-known brand of veggie sausages and ready meals was part of a wider sell-off of its frozen foods business. The ketchup maker recently sold its UK chilled prepared foods business to Hain to focus on core products such as baby foods.
When the Linda McCartney business first went up for sale this year there was market speculation that Nestlé would snap it up, making the veggie meals firm the latest "ethical" brand to fall into the hands of a big multinational. In March, L'Oréal, which is part-owned by Nestlé, had shocked many ethical consumers when it bought Body Shop after winning the backing of founder Anita Roddick.
The McCartney range, which helped popularise vegetarianism, was originally highly successful, but in recent years consumers have begun to turn their backs on frozen foods. Hain however predicted its acquisition, which includes a factory in Fakenham, Norfolk, would add to earnings during its next fiscal year, which starts at the end of this month. |
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