A “global flavor powerhouse” is brewing in Hunt Valley.

McCormick, the longtime spice company, has regularly added brands in recent years. But it made a huge splash Tuesday by acquiring the bulk of Unilever’s food business and nearly tripling in size.

Unilever, a British consumer packaged goods conglomerate that owns brands such as Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, will combine its food companies under the McCormick name. The company will remain headquartered in Baltimore County with an international base in the Netherlands.

“McCormick will be McCormick,” McCormick President and CEO Brendan Foley said on an earnings call Tuesday. “Grounded in 137 years of leadership and guided by a passion for flavor.”

Foley, speaking on the call alongside Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández, called the combined company a “powerhouse” and described Tuesday as a “major milestone.”

“We have long thought about this combination,” he said.

The combination posted $20 billion in revenue last year — significantly more than McCormick’s $6.8 billion. Once the transaction closes, Unilever shareholders will have a roughly 65% stake of the company, with McCormick shareholders owning 35%. Unilever will receive about $15.7 billion in cash.

Large acquisitions often generate overlap in operations, and it’s unclear what precise consequences there will be for the two companies’ employees. On Tuesday’s earnings call, the executives touted $600 million in “cost synergies.”

McCormick — which already owns several brands aside from its spices — highlighted that the combined company would “unlock” the ability to grow products like Cholula, Frank’s RedHot and Maile, a French condiments brand owned by Unilever.

Foley also said the combined company would be able to expand its distribution and generate distinct research and development capabilities.

This article will be updated.