Unilever Buys Sir Kensington’s, Maker of Fancy Ketchup -<br />By STEPHANIE STROMAPRIL 20, 2017<br />Unilever, the giant food and consumer product company, is buying Sir Kensington’s, a small condiment maker<br />that has muscled its way on to grocery store shelves long thought impervious to disruption.<br />“Smaller food companies have a challenge when it comes to customer access, plain<br />and simple,” said Scott Norton, who founded Sir Kensington’s seven years ago with a college friend, Mark Ramadan.<br />Last month at Expo West, the big natural and organic food show, for instance, several companies debuted vegan<br />mayonnaises or mayonnaises flavored with avocado oil, products Sir Kensington’s had in its lineup earlier.<br />Since Sir Kensington’s breakout success, other start-up food companies have decided that condiments are ripe for new products.<br />In the intervening months, Unilever has announced that it is selling its spread business, which includes brands like Country Crock<br />and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, as well as some baking lines, leading some to speculate that it might get out of food sales altogether.
