Unilever to divest Indonesia tea business SariWangi

Core Insights - Unilever has agreed to sell its SariWangi tea business in Indonesia to Savoria Kreasi Rasa for Rp1.5 trillion ($89.5 million) as part of its portfolio optimization strategy [1][2] - The divestment aims to sharpen Unilever Indonesia's focus on higher growth segments and enhance sustainable shareholder value [3] - The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of the year, subject to customary closing conditions [3] Company Strategy - Unilever's divestment of the SariWangi brand aligns with its strategy to concentrate on "fewer, bigger and more scalable categories" [2] - The sale follows Unilever's previous divestment of its global tea business Ekaterra for €4.5 billion ($5.26 billion), which excluded certain tea businesses in India, Nepal, and Indonesia [4] Market Context - Hot tea volumes in Indonesia were relatively flat in 2022, with a slight increase of 0.4% to 6.14 billion liters from January to September [4] - In the third quarter of 2022, hot tea volumes declined by 0.5% year-on-year, reaching 2.05 billion liters [5] - Savoria Kreasi Rasa, established in 2016, is part of the Djarum Group and has a portfolio that includes various food and drink brands [5]