Establishing The Magnum Ice Cream Company in France

We led the local market establishment of Unilever’s Ice Cream business in France, enabling a successful transition into a standalone company.

Challenge

When Unilever decided to demerge its Ice Cream division, it was not just a structural change but a full business transformation. Ice cream operates with a fundamentally different model, from frozen supply chains to distinct go to market dynamics, strong seasonality and higher capital intensity.

Translating this global strategic decision into a fully operational standalone company at market level required more than design. It demanded speed, precision and flawless execution across all functions. In France, the challenge was to localize and operationalize this transformation end to end, ensuring the business was ready to operate independently from the moment of legal separation and stock exchange listing, without disrupting ongoing operations. Unilever France asked us to take the lead in making this happen.

Solution

We acted as the local market establishment lead, bridging strategy and execution on the ground. Working closely with the France GM and the Europe/ANZ BU Establishment Team, we translated global design principles into a fully functioning local operating model tailored to the realities of the French market.

We drove the end to end setup of the organization, embedding new commercial and financial processes, aligning cross functional teams and ensuring that every element, from governance and contracts to systems and ways of working, was ready to perform from the moment the business became legally independent and publicly listed. Throughout the process, we acted as the central point of coordination, aligning global and local stakeholders, actively managing risks and ensuring that decisions were effectively implemented, not just defined.

Results

The Ice Cream business in France was successfully established as part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company, fully operational from the moment it became a separate, publicly listed company in November 2025.

Building on the internal separation completed earlier in 2025, the transition to a listed entity was executed without disruption to customers or operations, while putting in place a future fit operating model enabling commercial performance and financial control.

By turning a complex global strategy into a tangible local reality, we helped lay the foundations for a standalone company designed to perform from day one as an independent business, with France established as a key market within this new organization.