Our products give people the ability to enjoy the foods they love while protecting our planet and improving their personal health. It’s always been this way.
Right from the start, our brands have been leading in plant-based innovation, constantly pushing the boundaries of taste, nutrition, and health. It started with Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, the food pioneer who first created margarine, and sold the patent to the entrepreneurial Jurgens Family in 1871. This led to the first widely sold plant-based spreads appearing in the market.
There were a couple of owners in between from the Van den Berghs to Lever Brothers and Unilever before Upfield (now Flora Food Group) was formed in 2018.
Our vision is to become the next generation of food, with a pioneering global company, transitioning the food system towards a more sustainable plant-based model of consumption that doesn’t cost the earth.
Our power brands - Flora, Becel + ProActiv, Rama, Country Crock, BlueBand and Violife - are staples around the world and here’s a taste of how it all began.
Our products offer a compelling choice from dairy alternatives
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1962The new frontier for spreads - BecelIn response to demands from the Dutch Medical Professional for a healthy spread, Becel is launched. It does what it says on the tin…Blood Cholesterol Lowering. -
1964Flora launched in the UKThis iconic brand was marketed when launched as ‘the lighter, healthier way you want to eat today, it’s Flora, the new margarine’. It remains a very popular brand today. -
1999ProActiv proven to reduce cholesterolAfter years of scientific studies and finally regulatory approval, ProActiv (from Becel or Flora) is launched containing plant sterols clinically proven to lower cholesterol. Also, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter was launched in America. -
2018Upfield (now Flora Food Group) the global leader in plant-based food is formedOur early years saw a huge transformation of our manufacturing footprint, culture, products, digital systems and processes, as we continued to distribute and market our popular brands around the world. -
2020The Upfield (now Flora Food Group) Family grows with ViolifeThe roll-out of Plant-based Butters begins across Europe and the US and in 2020 Violife joins the family strengthening our multi category offering of plant-based butters and spreads, creams, liquids, and cheeses. -
2022Investing in world class innovationWe open the Flora Food Group Food Science Centre in Wageningen, the Silicon Valley of Food in the Netherlands and we form strategic partnerships with Change Foods, OGGS® and Alfred’s. We relaunched our Professional business as Violife Professional. -
2023Building the future of foodWe continue to grow our purpose driven company through our delicious and nutritious products that remain good for people and good for our planet, with our well-known brands: Flora, Becel+ProActiv, Rama, Country Crock, BlueBand and Violife, and many more. We remain committed to the future of food. -
1871The origins of the Flora Food Group companyThe Jurgens bought the patent for margarine from food pioneer Mège-Mouriès of France. -
1899Our brands are starting to developSolo margarine was launched in Germany, quickly followed by Sanella and Vitello. -
1920'sOur iconic brands rolling out across EuropeThree classic brands are launched in this decade - the UK’s favourite baking brand Stork in 1920, the much-loved BlueBand Netherlands in 1923 and iconic Rama Germany in 1924. -
1930'sThere’s no stopping BlueBandThe expansion of BlueBand continues with ambient formulations being launched in Malaysia (1930) and Indonesia (1934). 20 years later it’s launched in Africa in tins and then ambient sachets (1989) for easier distribution. -
1954Americans open their fridges to Country CrockOriginally launched by the Shedd’s company, then owned by Beatrice Foods…before becoming a staple product in our portfolio during 1984. -
2024Leading the next generation of foodWe launch a world-first – brands like Flora spread are now available in paper tubs.