Alicorp, Peru's largest consumer-goods company, signed agreements on 28 January 2026 to acquire Unilever's home-care business across Colombia and Ecuador—a deal that transfers ownership of familiar cleaning brands from a European multinational to a regional powerhouse based in Lima.
The transaction covers 100% of the assets of Unilever Andina Colombia and Unilever Andina Ecuador, including the Fab, 3D, Aromatel and Deja brands. These products have been part of Unilever's regional portfolio for more than 60 years. The deal also transfers the associated teams and operations that support these brands across both countries.
Neither Alicorp nor Unilever disclosed the purchase price. Alicorp filed the transaction as a material event with Peru's securities regulator, the SMV, but financial terms remain confidential. Enrique Vargas, the consumer and retail lead at advisory firm Inverlink who worked on the mandate, described the deal as strategically significant.
Consolidation of Regional Power
Alicorp already operates across seven Latin American countries with more than 150 owned brands spanning foods, personal and home care, business-to-business solutions and aquaculture. In Ecuador, the company already sells AlaCena, Don Vittorio and Sapolio. In Colombia, Alicorp has separately moved to acquire the Rama margarine brand, signaling an aggressive expansion strategy in the region.
Reginaldo Ecclissato, speaking for Unilever, said the decision was deliberate and consistent with the company's ambition to grow in strategic categories. He added that the brands were expected to keep prospering under Alicorp's ownership. Unilever continues to maintain a presence in the region with brands including Dove, Rexona, Knorr and Hellmann's.
Regulatory Hurdles Remain
The deal still requires approval from Colombia's Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio and Ecuador's Superintendencia de Competencia Económica. Company statements indicated that regulators were being asked to approve the transaction through the first quarter of 2026. Completion remains subject to customary conditions precedent. Until regulators sign off, Unilever continues to run the business day to day.
This transaction reflects a broader pattern in which global consumer majors are trimming their exposure to specific Andean categories while regional champions expand their footprint. The move reinforces Alicorp's position as one of Peru's most acquisitive consumer companies and marks a significant shift in ownership of familiar household brands from Europe to Latin America.
Why This Matters:
This acquisition illustrates how global markets are reshaping themselves along regional lines, with consequences for workers, consumers, and local competition. When multinational corporations divest from emerging markets, the question of who controls those assets—and how they're managed—becomes crucial. Alicorp's expansion means that decisions about product pricing, labor standards, and distribution networks for goods used in millions of Colombian and Ecuadorian households will now be made by a Lima-based company rather than a European one. Regulators in both countries will need to assess whether this consolidation strengthens or weakens competition in the home-care sector. The deal also signals how regional companies are gaining economic power, shifting control of consumer markets away from traditional multinational dominance. For workers in these operations, the transition raises questions about job security, wages, and working conditions under new ownership—details that remain unclear as the deal awaits regulatory approval.