A Global Decision That Required Local Mastery to Execute
When Unilever decided to demerge its Ice Cream division, the scale of what that meant in practice was often underestimated. This was not a structural reorganisation on paper. It was a full business transformation — requiring the creation of an entirely new, independent company that could operate commercially and financially from the moment of legal separation.
Ice cream operates with a fundamentally different business model: frozen supply chains, distinct go-to-market dynamics, strong seasonality and materially higher capital intensity. Translating a global strategic decision into a fully operational standalone company at market level demanded more than design thinking. It demanded speed, precision and flawless execution across every function simultaneously.
In France — one of the most important markets in the European portfolio — Unilever asked Falcon to take the lead in making this happen. The scope was total: localise the transformation, operationalise every element, and ensure the business was ready to perform as a listed entity from day one.
"The goal was not to hand over a plan. It was to hand over a fully functioning, independent business — commercially ready, legally separated and operationally autonomous."
From Global Blueprint to Local Operating Reality
We acted as the local market establishment lead throughout — the connective tissue between the global design team and the French market reality. Our role was to translate global principles into a fully functioning local operating model tailored to how France actually works.
The work unfolded across several interconnected streams:
- Organisational design and setup — building and embedding the new commercial and financial structure for the French entity
- Process and governance design — establishing the ways of working, decision rights and financial controls that an independent listed company requires
- Cross-functional alignment — ensuring every function — commercial, finance, HR, supply chain, legal — was ready to operate without Unilever's infrastructure from day one
- Stakeholder coordination — acting as the central point of alignment between global and local teams, actively managing risks and ensuring decisions translated into action, not just documentation
- Continuity of operations — maintaining full commercial performance throughout the separation, ensuring no disruption to customers or the business
Throughout the engagement we were the constant — the ones who knew both the global ambition and the French reality, and who could bridge the two at every decision point.
A New Company, Fully Operational From the Moment It Was Listed
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. France was established as a key market within The Magnum Ice Cream Company — with the structure, governance and commercial capability to compete independently.