LONDON – With ice cream now a standalone, publicly-quoted business, Unilever is taking further steps to transform itself into a beauty and wellness powerhouse, and has confirmed it’s in talks to sell or merge its foods division.

The consumer giant, parent of brands ranging from Dove and Vaseline to Hellmann’s, Marmite and Knorr, confirmed Friday it’s talking to the U.S. spices and food flavorings company McCormick & Co. Inc. about a deal.

The news bolstered shares by 1.2 percent to 46.27 pounds in late morning trading on Friday, March 20.

Unilever issued the statement in response to media speculation earlier this week that it was looking to spin off its foods business. Friday’s statement did not clarify what sort of deal it was discussing with McCormick, owner of brands including Old Bay, French’s and Schwartz.

Unilever said the board believes foods is a “highly attractive business, with a strong financial profile led by market-leading brands in growing categories. It is confident in the future of the foods business as part of Unilever.”

The consumer giant confirmed that it had received “an inbound offer” for the foods business, “and is in discussions with McCormick & Company, Inc. There can be no certainty that any transaction will be agreed.”

A Unilever spokesperson declined to clarify the nature of the offer, or whether Unilever was considering a merger, outright sale or spin-off of certain brands.

During Unilever’s first-half results presentation last July, chief executive officer Fernando Fernandez laid out Unilever’s priorities: “More beauty and well-being and personal care; disproportionate investment in the U.S. and India, and a sharper focus on premium segments and digital commerce.”

He added: “We are building a marketing and sales machine that drives desire at scale in our power brands and ensures execution excellence across all channels, to deliver consistent volume growth and gross margin expansion.”

Last September Fernandez told the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference he expects two-thirds of sales to come from beauty and personal care in the medium term. Beauty and personal care currently account for around 51 percent of sales.

Unilever’s beauty and well-being division is valued around 13.2 billion euros, and includes “power brands” such as Dove, Vaseline, Nutrafol, Liquid I.V. and Paula’s Choice. Unilever is increasingly focusing on its 30 largest brands across all product categories, which generate more than 70 percent of turnover.

Late last year, Unilever completed the spin-off of its ice cream division, now known as The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Based in the Netherlands, it is the world’s largest ice cream company, with shares listed and traded in Amsterdam, London and New York.