Unilever’s ex-ice cream unit to set up its first global centre in Pune with ₹900 crore investment | Company Business News

New Delhi: The Netherlands-headquartered Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever Plc’s recently demerged ice cream business, is set to open its first global operations centre in Pune, with an investment of ₹900 crore.

Magnum’s global capability centre (GCC) is expected to bring in investments worth Rs900 crore and provide employment to more than 500 people over an unspecified period.

The global capability centre will provide information technology, supply chain, finance, human resources management, and other key services for Magnum’s global network.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the signing of an agreement between the state government and Magnum on X, saying Magnum’s global capability centre would create high-paying jobs.

Abhijit Bhattacharya, chief financial officer of The Magnum Ice Cream Company, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday in the presence of Fadnavis and Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Eknath Shinde.

Unilever’s cold split

Unilever’s board decided to separate the global consumer goods company’s ice cream business in March last year, explaining that the unit had distinct characteristics as compared with its other businesses.

Unilever’s ice cream business had five of the top 10 global ice cream brands by sales, including Wall’s, Magnum, and Ben & Jerry’s. In all, its ice cream brands delivered a combined turnover of €7.9 billion in 2023.

The London-headquartered consumer goods giant recently announced that its spun-off entity that makes ice creams and frozen desserts would be called The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

Earlier this year, Unilever’s India business, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, also announced plans to demerge its ice cream business into Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd. This spun-off ice cream company is to be separately listed in India.

Unilever operates several research and development centres across the globe, including in Bengaluru and Mumbai. Several of these centres are involved in developing new products and processes for the global consumer goods giant.