Hunch. McCormick's Schwartz and Unilever's Knorr and Hellmann's sell seasonings and sauces to the same UK shoppers.
The problem market resolves YES if by 11 November 2026, or a later deadline on the case page, the CMA says the deal may reduce competition in the UK, whether it then takes changes from the companies or sends the deal to a full inquiry. A clearance with no conditions, a release under the small-market exception or an abandoned deal is NO, with Reuters and BBC Business as backup.
We looked for cases where the CMA checked a planned food deal in which a company bought part of another firm's business, both sold the same kind of product, and the deal was not yet done. We found eight since 2018. In six of them the CMA said yes at its first check with no conditions, each time before the deadline.