Unilever

Unilever (LON: ULVR) is one of the world’s largest diversified consumer goods producers. Founded in 1929, the company is home to more than 10 of Kantar’s top 50 global brands (2021), including Lifebuoy, Dove, Lux, Knorr, Rexona, Vim, and Closeup. The company generated revenue of EUR 59.6 billion (~USD 64 billion) in 2023. Unilever actively engages in acquisitions and divestitures of consumer household brands, and, in January 2022, reorganized its internal operating structure in favor of a category-focused model. 

Unilever sells products under five categories, with four being relatively equal in size. Nutrition is the largest, with the Knorr (bouillons and seasonings) and Hellmann’s (mayonnaise) brands accounting for over half of category sales. The Personal Care category includes skin care, deodorants, and oral care products sold under the Lux, Dove, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Axe, Signal, and Closeup brand labels. The Home Care category houses the OMO, Sunlight, Surf, Cif Domestos, and Comfort brands that sell fabric cleaning and home cleaning products, disinfectants, and fabric enhancers. The Beauty & Wellbeing category comprises hair care, skin care, beauty, and health and wellbeing products that are marketed through brands such as Dove, Sunsilk, Clear, Vaseline, and Ponds. Ice Cream is the company’s smallest category, with the Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, and Wall’s brands.

Unilever expects to drive organic growth and productivity by prioritizing investment in its Power Brands for large-scale innovations while enhancing P&L accountability and measuring net productivity to fund growth investments and expand margins. The company expects underlying sales growth for 2024 to be within the 3%–5% range (7.0% in 2023). Regarding portfolio augmentation, Unilever expects to optimize its portfolio with smaller acquisitions while divesting non-strategic brands like Suave and Dollar Shave Club, with plans to complete the sale of Elida Beauty brands by mid-2024. Financially, the company plans to increase brand and marketing investment and R&D spend in 2024, with capital expenditure expected to be around 3% of turnover (2.7% in 2023). Unilever plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2030.