Q1 was full of major M&A moves (and maybes)

If last fall was CPG breakup season, the first quarter of 2026 was cuffing season. From Unilever and McCormick’s deal to Kraft Heinz’s conscious recoupling, plus a few potential mergers still in the works, we’re breaking down the tie-ups to know from Q1.

McCormick and Unilever unite their sauces and spices

Making it official on the last day of Q1, Unilever announced it’s spinning off its food business to combine with spice maker McCormick in a deal valuing Unilever at $44.8 billion and McCormick at $21 billion.

The combined company, led by McCormick President and CEO Brendan Foley, will unite Unilever’s Hellmann’s and Knorr with McCormick’s spices and brands like Cholula hot sauce and Maille French mustard. The new business boosts the global reach, retail and distribution scale, and innovation resources across the two companies.

It also allows Unilever to become a “pureplay’ household and personal care player, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández noted in a statement—with brands like Dove and Vaseline operating in more “high-growth” categories—after spinning off its ice cream business last year. Unilever’s move continues the trend of CPGs streamlining operations, like the recent Kellogg Company and Keurig Dr Pepper splits, and rival P&G’s sale of its beauty brands to Coty a decade ago.

Kraft Heinz stays together

After sharing its plans to split in two in September, Kraft Heinz said in February it’s staying together after all. The company had said the split would allow it to “more effectively deploy resources” among high- and low-growth categories, but new CEO Steve Cahillane, former president and CEO of Kellanova who led its own split, said that since joining the company, he’d “seen that the opportunity is larger than expected and that many of our challenges are fixable and within our control.” Instead, Cahillane said the company would be spending $600 million to improve its marketing, sales, and R&D, and, like many CPGs, is seeking to drive “volume-led” growth this year.

Henkel makes hair care moves

Henkel—owner of consumer brands including Dial, DevaCurl, and Got2B—went on an acquisition spree in March to put more roots in hair care.

In early March, the company shared plans to buy Not Your Mother’s—the mass brand known for its TikTok-viral, curly hair-friendly products—which amassed nearly $220 million in sales in fiscal 2025.

A few weeks later, Henkel shared its intention to acquire Olaplex, the prestige hair care brand that’s two years into a turnaround effort, for $1.4 billion. Olaplex produced around $425 million in sales in fiscal 2025, and will help expand Henkel’s presence in premium hair care, the company said. Hair care has proven to be one of the fastest growing categories within prestige beauty, with 8% sales growth YoY in 2025, according to NielsenIQ.

Maybe: Estée Lauder and Puig mull merger

French beauty giant Estée Lauder is in talks to buy Barcelona-based beauty and fashion conglomerate Puig, owner of brands like Charlotte Tilbury, Dr. Barbara Sturm, and Carolina Herrera. Estée Lauder is also in the midst of a turnaround under new President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie, aiming to reignite the Clinique and MAC owner through his “Beauty Reimagined” strategy.

The potential merger comes after Estée Lauder’s French beauty giant rival L’Oréal announced a deal to purchase Kering’s beauty business for $4.7 billion, giving it the rights to develop fragrances and beauty products under brands like Gucci and Balenciaga. The Estée Lauder-Puig tie-up could help Estée Lauder compete with the growing L’Oréal, though the two companies’ combined $20 billion in revenue last year is still quite shy of the more than $50 billion L’Oréal brought in.

Maybe: Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman see spirits synergy

Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard, the world’s second-largest spirits seller with brands like Malibu and Absolut Vodka, confirmed last month the two are in talks to combine, a move that would create “enhanced scale, a powerful brand portfolio, and a balanced geographic footprint,” the companies said. The combination would work to combat slumping sales across the alcohol industry, which has been hampered by tariffs and changing consumer preferences.