Corporate Sales:

$59 billion

Beauty/Personal Care Sales:

$25 billion

Key Personnel:

• Alan Jope, CEO
• Graeme Pitkethly, CFO
• Conny Braams, chief digital and commercial officer
• Reginaldo Ecclissato, chief supply chain officer
• Fernando Fernandez, president, Beauty and Wellbeing
• Sanjiv Mehta, president, Unilever South Asia and chair and managing director, Hindustan Unilever
• Richard Slater, chief R&D officer

Major Products/Brands:

Axe, Dove, Clear, Dermalogica, Ren, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Sunsilk, Vaseline.

New Products:

Dove Care by Plants Deodorant, Dove Kids Care bath collection (Canada), Dermalogica Circular Hydration Serum with Hyaluronic Acid, Ren 3-Step Barrier Boosting Set, Axe 100% Natural Origin Scent, Lifebuoy Charcoal and Mint, Rexona Clinical Protection, Vaseline Derma Care, Paula’s Choice

Financial Summary:

Alongside a 1.6% volume gain, Unilever enjoyed a 4.5% increase in fiscal 2021 sales, reaching $25 billion. According to CEO Alan Jope, the company’s 13 billion-Euro brands grew 6.4%, with the priority markets of China, India and the U.S. growing a combined 31% and overall e-commerce leaping 44%.

In Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care division, underlying sales grew 3.8%, with 3% from price and 0.8% from volume. All categories delivered positive growth apart from skin cleansing which declined following elevated demand in the prior year.

The company’s skincare sector turned in high single-digit growth. Vaseline performed strongly throughout the year, supported by several premium innovations across brightening, therapeutics and hydration. Deodorants grew as the market continued to recover, with good growth and restored competitiveness in North America. Unilever launched Dove refillable deodorant in the U.S. and it was well-received by consumers.

Hair care sector growth was led by Sunsilk, Dove and Clear in North America being restored to competitive growth. E-commerce and the overall recovery of the beauty channel helped Unilever’s Prestige Beauty division tally double-digit growth compared to the prior year. New innovations in Prestige Beauty include Dermalogica’s biolumin-c and sound sleep cocoon and Ren’s zero waste packaging.

Jope noted that the underlying operating margin in Beauty and Personal Care was flat, with high material inflation in palm oil having a particularly high impact on gross margin, despite stepped up pricing. “Brand and marketing investment was lower overall due to reductions in Europe and South East Asia where COVID-19 restrictions impacted market growth,” he said. “We invested more in the U.S. and China and benefited from efficiencies in advertising production costs.”

2021-2022 Highlights:

In September 2021, Unilever, Henkel, L’Oréal, LVMH and Natura &Co announced a global collaboration to co-develop an industry-wide impact assessment and scoring system to help consumers understand the environmental impact of cosmetic products. The “brand-agnostic” guidance will be based on a common science-based methodology and cover formula, packaging and usage with the ultimate goal of helping consumers make more sustainable consumption choices.

Looking Ahead:

In a forward-looking statement, Jope said he expected underlying sales growth in 2022 to be in the range of 4.5% to 6.5%. “We currently expect very high input cost inflation in the first half of over €2 billion,” he commented. “This may moderate in the second half to around €1.5 billion, although there is currently a wide range for this that reflects market uncertainty on the outlook for commodity, freight and packaging costs.”

In January 2022, Unilever announced organizational changes that would help focus its business around five Business Group categories, each responsible and accountable for their strategy, growth and profit delivery; running their businesses in all geographies. Jope said he expected the restructuring to generate around €600 million in cost savings over two years.

In May, Unilever announced it would be acquiring a majority stake in Nutrafol, a provider of hair wellness products. 

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