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According to a Financial Times report, Kraft Heinz and Unilever recently held talks exploring a ‘mega merger’ of their food brands.

The FT report, published yesterday (18 March 2026), said that discussions were held between the two food giants in recent months and have now ended.

They reportedly took place ahead of Kraft Heinz’s decision to halt its planned separation into two stand-alone businesses.

The plans to pause the split were announced in February alongside a commitment of $600 million across marketing, sales and R&D. This followed the appointment of Steve Cahillane as Kraft Heinz’s CEO in December 2025, with Cahillane framing the move as a response to what he described as “fixable” underperformance.

If implemented, the merger would have seen leading condiments Heinz ketchup and Hellmann’s mayonnaise brought together under the same ownership, creating a new entity worth tens of billions of dollars.

This report followed earlier reporting from Bloomberg News on Tuesday 17 March, stating that Unilever is considering a spin-off of its food business and citing “sources familiar with the matter”.

Unilever declined to comment on the reports when approached by FoodBev. Speculation over the future of Unilever’s food brands has been building since 2025, with reports surfacing last November that the company was considering the sale of British brands Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril amid its ongoing portfolio streamlining efforts.

The company completed a demerger of its ice cream business in December 2025, with the newly spun-off The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) now operating as a stand-alone entity. TMICC houses popular brands Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s and Wall’s, among others.

Unilever’s shares dipped by 3.5% following the Bloomberg report, with Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman telling Reuters reporters that Unilever’s CEO, Fernando Fernandez, needs “another year under his belt before he looks at splitting off food; geopolitical issues consumers are facing also need to calm down”.

Fernandez stepped into the CEO role at the beginning of March 2025, with previous chief executive Hein Schumacher stepping down after less than a year in the position. He previously served as Unilever’s chief financial officer.

FoodBev has approached Kraft Heinz for comment on the food merger reports.