US investment firm KKR is exploring a $10B sale of Flora Food Group, the spreads business it acquired from Unilever in 2018, after abandoning a plan to make its entire offering plant-based. The company behind Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Butter! and Violife is being floated for a sale worth as much as $10B, according to the Financial Times. Despite a correction in the plant-based market, Flora Food Group’s turnover has remained steady at €3B in net sales last year, with a 1% compound annual growth rate between 2019 and 2025. However, the company is highly indebted, with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of about 7.5x, according to Fitch Ratings analysis.

KKR’s potential offloading of Flora Food Group reflects the widespread consolidation that has occurred in the alternative protein industry recently. Over 70 businesses in the sector have merged, been acquired or bought out, fallen into insolvency, or ceased operations since September 2024. Some of the most notable deals in the industry include Unilever’s sale of The Vegetarian Butcher to JBS-owned Vivera, Livekindly Collective’s acquisition of Tindle Foods’s US, UK and German business, Chobani’s takeover of Daily Harvest, and Danone’s purchase of Kate Farms and Huel. Time will tell if Flora Food Group joins that list, and what it would mean for its plant-based promises.