10.25.21
Update: Unilever ranks at #2 on our latest report Top 20 Global Beauty Companies 2022.
Unilever is #2 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies.
Below is a look at the company's 2021 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
Corporate Sales
$63 billion
Beauty Sales
$26 billion
Key Personnel
Alan Jope, chief executive officer; Nils Andersen, chairman; Marc Engel, chief supply chain officer; Fabian Garcia, president, North America; Sunny Jain, president, beauty and personal care; Esi Eggleston Bracey, executive vice president and chief operating officer, beauty & personal care; Sanjiv Mehta, president, Unilever, South Asia and chair and managing director, Hindustan Unilever
Major Products/Brands
Cosmetics, Skin Care, Hair Care, Personal Care, mass to prestige, including Axe, Dove, Hourglass, Dermalogica, Lifebuoy, Lux, Rexona, Signal, Sunsilk, Aviance, Badedas, Brut, Caress, Dove, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Suave, Tigi, TreSemme, VO5, Vaseline, Dawn, Geisha, Hamam, Kalina, Paula’s Choice
New Products
Dove body wash reformulation, Dove Hair Therapy, Dove Refillable Deo, Lux Botanicals, Hourglass Red 0 vegan beauty, Axe Texturizing Cream, TreSemme Color Gloss Conditioners
Comments
With products available in 190 countries, in 25 million retail outlets, Unilever is the second largest advertiser in the world based on media spend and owns 14 of the world’s top 50 global consumer brands.
In total, Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care division accounted for 52% of Unilever’s operating profit in 2020. The division also represented 41% of turnover (totaling about $26 billion), a decline of 3.4%. Its underlying sales growth was 1.2% and its operating margin was 20.4%. Beauty & Personal Care revenue was led by Skin Cleansing products at 12% (+2 compared to 2019), Hair Care products at 11% (-1%), Deodorants at 8% (no change), and Skin Care products minus cleansers at 7% (-1%).
2021 Highlights
When the pandemic started, the company realized it did not have a significant hand hygiene portfolio available in key regions like Europe and North America so it mobilized to expand its hygiene offerings. Lifebuoy was introduced into 58 new markets. And during the year it became Unilever’s latest billion-euro brand. Vaseline also expanded production of antibacterial hand creams to 18 markets.
With hair salons, spas and specialist stores temporarily closed, the company shifted its focus to helping people look after themselves at home. Its “All Things Hair” website shared advice for how to create hairstyles at home, and Lux launched a lockdown campaign. The uptick in virtual shopping also encouraged Unilever to shift the focus of its Prestige Beauty brands towards e-commerce, and Dermalogica introduced one-to-one virtual skin consultations.
The company also announced new goals to achieve net zero carbon emissions from all their products—from sourcing to point of sale—by 2039, and to eliminate deforestation from their supply chain by 2023. Unilever said that it will prioritize partnerships with new suppliers who already have science-based emissions targets in place, while asking existing suppliers to adopt targets to cut emissions.
Further, the company also committed to reducing the use of virgin plastic in its packaging by 50% by 2025, which is equivalent to about 350,000 tons. First it will eliminate more than 100,000 tons of plastic from its packaging by accelerating multiple-use packs and reusable, refillable, and no-plastic product innovations. The remainder will happen via the increased use of recycled materials.
In March, Unilever announced it would eliminate the word “normal” from all of their beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising, as part of the launch of their new Positive Beauty vision and strategy.
In April, the company sought to stimulate growth by teasing out smaller beauty and personal care brands through a spinoff management team named Elida Beauty. The brands under that umbrella are Q-Tips, Caress, Tigi, Timotei, Impulse and Monsavon, and combined for sales of about $700 million last year.
Looking Ahead
In its most recent statement regarding half year results for 2021, Unilever reported an underlying sales growth of 5.4%, with a 4% volume, with increased price growth in Q2. Beauty & Personal Care underlying sales grew 3.3% with 1.8% from volume and 1.4% from price, with an acceleration to 4.2% underlying sales growth in Q2. In an accompanying statement, CEO Alan Jope said growth was led in part by Prestige Beauty. He also pointed to the June acquisition of digitally native skin care brand, Paula’s Choice.
Skin care grew by double digits and deodorants returned to growth. In skin care, Vaseline and Ponds each enjoyed double digit growth. Unilever launched a refillable iteration of its Dove deodorant in the U.S., one of many Dove projects exploring sustainable packaging solutions, according to the company.
Skin cleansing rose in light of the sharp increase in demand in the prior year. Hair grew mid-single digit. Wash and care and styling both grew, and there was “good growth” in China, India and Brazil. Premium brand Shea Moisture grew by double digits in the U.S.
Read Next: The Estée Lauder Companies is #3.
Unilever is #2 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies.
Below is a look at the company's 2021 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.
Corporate Sales
$63 billion
Beauty Sales
$26 billion
Key Personnel
Alan Jope, chief executive officer; Nils Andersen, chairman; Marc Engel, chief supply chain officer; Fabian Garcia, president, North America; Sunny Jain, president, beauty and personal care; Esi Eggleston Bracey, executive vice president and chief operating officer, beauty & personal care; Sanjiv Mehta, president, Unilever, South Asia and chair and managing director, Hindustan Unilever
Major Products/Brands
Cosmetics, Skin Care, Hair Care, Personal Care, mass to prestige, including Axe, Dove, Hourglass, Dermalogica, Lifebuoy, Lux, Rexona, Signal, Sunsilk, Aviance, Badedas, Brut, Caress, Dove, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Suave, Tigi, TreSemme, VO5, Vaseline, Dawn, Geisha, Hamam, Kalina, Paula’s Choice
New Products
Dove body wash reformulation, Dove Hair Therapy, Dove Refillable Deo, Lux Botanicals, Hourglass Red 0 vegan beauty, Axe Texturizing Cream, TreSemme Color Gloss Conditioners
Comments
With products available in 190 countries, in 25 million retail outlets, Unilever is the second largest advertiser in the world based on media spend and owns 14 of the world’s top 50 global consumer brands.
In total, Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care division accounted for 52% of Unilever’s operating profit in 2020. The division also represented 41% of turnover (totaling about $26 billion), a decline of 3.4%. Its underlying sales growth was 1.2% and its operating margin was 20.4%. Beauty & Personal Care revenue was led by Skin Cleansing products at 12% (+2 compared to 2019), Hair Care products at 11% (-1%), Deodorants at 8% (no change), and Skin Care products minus cleansers at 7% (-1%).
2021 Highlights
When the pandemic started, the company realized it did not have a significant hand hygiene portfolio available in key regions like Europe and North America so it mobilized to expand its hygiene offerings. Lifebuoy was introduced into 58 new markets. And during the year it became Unilever’s latest billion-euro brand. Vaseline also expanded production of antibacterial hand creams to 18 markets.
With hair salons, spas and specialist stores temporarily closed, the company shifted its focus to helping people look after themselves at home. Its “All Things Hair” website shared advice for how to create hairstyles at home, and Lux launched a lockdown campaign. The uptick in virtual shopping also encouraged Unilever to shift the focus of its Prestige Beauty brands towards e-commerce, and Dermalogica introduced one-to-one virtual skin consultations.
The company also announced new goals to achieve net zero carbon emissions from all their products—from sourcing to point of sale—by 2039, and to eliminate deforestation from their supply chain by 2023. Unilever said that it will prioritize partnerships with new suppliers who already have science-based emissions targets in place, while asking existing suppliers to adopt targets to cut emissions.
Further, the company also committed to reducing the use of virgin plastic in its packaging by 50% by 2025, which is equivalent to about 350,000 tons. First it will eliminate more than 100,000 tons of plastic from its packaging by accelerating multiple-use packs and reusable, refillable, and no-plastic product innovations. The remainder will happen via the increased use of recycled materials.
In March, Unilever announced it would eliminate the word “normal” from all of their beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising, as part of the launch of their new Positive Beauty vision and strategy.
In April, the company sought to stimulate growth by teasing out smaller beauty and personal care brands through a spinoff management team named Elida Beauty. The brands under that umbrella are Q-Tips, Caress, Tigi, Timotei, Impulse and Monsavon, and combined for sales of about $700 million last year.
Looking Ahead
In its most recent statement regarding half year results for 2021, Unilever reported an underlying sales growth of 5.4%, with a 4% volume, with increased price growth in Q2. Beauty & Personal Care underlying sales grew 3.3% with 1.8% from volume and 1.4% from price, with an acceleration to 4.2% underlying sales growth in Q2. In an accompanying statement, CEO Alan Jope said growth was led in part by Prestige Beauty. He also pointed to the June acquisition of digitally native skin care brand, Paula’s Choice.
Skin care grew by double digits and deodorants returned to growth. In skin care, Vaseline and Ponds each enjoyed double digit growth. Unilever launched a refillable iteration of its Dove deodorant in the U.S., one of many Dove projects exploring sustainable packaging solutions, according to the company.
Skin cleansing rose in light of the sharp increase in demand in the prior year. Hair grew mid-single digit. Wash and care and styling both grew, and there was “good growth” in China, India and Brazil. Premium brand Shea Moisture grew by double digits in the U.S.
Read Next: The Estée Lauder Companies is #3.