Major plant-based food company Upfield Group B.V. has announced that it is changing its name to Flora Food Group B.V., in a move described as “a substantial step in the company’s evolution”.
Flora Food Group says the new name reflects its mission to provide products that are more affordable and sustainable than their dairy equivalents. The company is working to capitalize on four megatrends — population growth, demand for dairy alternative solutions, animal welfare concerns, and environmental regulations. To address these trends, Flora Food Group aims to provide “delicious, natural, and nutritious” dairy alternatives across four categories — butter and spreads, creams, liquids, and cheese.
The new name will come into effect immediately at the Dutch corporate level, and will be phased in across global markets in the coming months. The news comes after Flora Food Group announced its intention to become fully plant-based, removing the small quantities of animal ingredients still found in some of its products. This change has already begun — for example, the company made all its Flora spreads vegan and palm oil-free in October 2023.
“Exciting and logical step”
Flora Food Group operates in 100 countries, owning major brands such as Flora, Becel+ProActiv, BlueBand, Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Rama, and Violife. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; it employs 4,800 people and owns 14 manufacturing sites across five continents.
Earlier this year, Flora Food Group revealed it had achieved net sales of €3.3 billion for the calendar year 2023, reaching an additional 55 million consumers globally. The company said it had also reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 13.5% per ton of production compared to 2022.
“The name change to Flora Food Group is an exciting and logical step in the large-scale transformation we have delivered,” said David Haines, Group CEO of Flora Food Group. “We have fully reinvented our company. The new name better reflects who we are, with Flora being one of our longest-standing and most popular brands loved by millions of families and professionals around the world. This name also evokes the company’s rich heritage and broad portfolio. It conveys our great passion to make delicious, natural, and nutritious food, helping to nourish hundreds of millions of families every day.”
