Unilever Spread Gets a New Name

Unilever has re-branded its ​“I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter.” veg­etable oil spread. The prod­uct has been renamed, ​“I can’t believe it’s so good for Everything.” and will be pro­moted as a ​“health­ier choice.”

Pedro Costa, Unilever’s UK brand man­ager said, ​“Our brand evo­lu­tion to take on a new name helps to drive home the fact that this prod­uct is unbe­liev­ably ver­sa­tile and a health­ier option.”

This is not Unilever’s first attempt to lure health-con­scious con­sumers. In 2007 the com­pany extended the ​“I Can’t Believe” brand to include an olive oil spread and an olive oil cook­ing spray; as con­sumers veered toward a more Mediterranean diet.

Unilever pro­claims their olive oil spread will ​“add a lit­tle Mediterranean flair to every­thing.” They describe it as, ​“An unbe­liev­able deli­cious gift from the Mediterranean made with real olive oil.” Vegetable oils account for just 45 per­cent of the ingre­di­ents. The olive oil spread also con­tains soy­bean oil, palm oil and palm ker­nel oil.

The ​“I Can’t Believe.….” range also boasts an olive oil spray, described as ​“Mediterranean fla­vor in an unbe­liev­able spray.” The spray, which Unilever claim is ​“made with olive oil” and deliv­ers an ​“authen­tic olive oil taste” con­tains soy­bean oil, sweet cream but­ter­milk and xan­than gum along with Tunisian olive oil.

Unilever said ​“I can’t believe it’s so good for Everything” can ​“sat­isfy a range of con­sumer needs, from spread­ing and cook­ing to bak­ing and fry­ing,” and the com­pany is pro­mot­ing the spread as ​“a health­ier choice made from plants and con­tains vit­a­min D, omega 3 and less sat­u­rated fat than but­ter.”

According to Unilever the taste of their ​“I can’t believe” range comes straight from the source — real plant-based oils.” The reg­u­lar ​“I can’t believe it’s not Butter” spread con­tains palm oil; which has come under intense scrutiny as a poten­tial car­cino­genic.

Unilever cred­its palm oil for the smooth and creamy tex­ture of their spread and claims to use sus­tain­able palm oil. Palm ker­nel oil and soy­bean oil are also listed as ingre­di­ents in the spread; which can be used for spread­ing, top­ping, sautée­ing, cook­ing and bak­ing.

“I can’t believe it’s so good for Everything” (which is not being renamed in the US) is already on sale in the U.K. It con­tin­ues to be pack­aged in the iconic yel­low and blue tubs.

Unilever has spent £1 mil­lion on tele­vi­sion com­mer­cials for the re-brand­ing. These will hit the screens in March.

“I can’t believe it’s not Butter” was first mar­keted in 1981 as a low-cost alter­na­tive to but­ter. Unilever acquired the brand in 1986.

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