Colman's Mustard put up for sale ahead of merger

A famous mustard brand synonymous with Norwich has been put up for sale.

Colman's Mustard, which had a factory in Norwich for 160 years, has been put on the market ahead of a merger between Unilever and American food giant McCormick in a deal believed to be worth £48bn.

The company has been deeply rooted in Norfolk after it was founded in 1814 by Jeremiah Colman at Stoke Holy Cross before production moved to Carrow in 1858.

A Unilever spokesperson said: "A decision has been taken to market the Colman's brand and assets to potential buyers in order to proactively seek to address potential competition concerns from the planned combination of Unilever Foods and McCormick."

Based outside of Norwich, the firm had a cradle-to-grave ethos and provided education, housing, healthcare and leisure for workers and their families.

A school was built on Carrow Hill in 1864 for employees' children and the firm supplied coffins for workers and their families, and built a series of terrace houses which were believed to have doors painted mustard yellow.

In January 2018, Unilever announced it would close the Carrow plant and the last jar of mustard rolled off the production line in 2019 before the factory was closed in 2020.

The 42-acre (17 hectare) site has sat empty since it closed and has been earmarked for thousands of homes.

Unilever shifted manufacturing to Burton-on-Trent and Germany.

Condimentum, based at the Food Enterprise Park in Easton, near Norwich, had been keeping Colman's Norwich legacy alive by producing the raw material for the brand.

The wider deal will see McCormick take control of household names including Hellmann's, Marmite, Knorr and Pot Noodle.

The American food giant already owns French's — one of the world's biggest rival mustard brands.

While Unilever will focus on home and personal care with brands including Dove, Persil and Lynx.

A Unilever spokesperson said discussions are ongoing and operations continue as usual.

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