Unilever sees growth in beauty and wellbeing, personal care

Unilever recently released the results for the first quarter of 2024, with CEO Hein Schumacher sharing the company's outlook and overall performance. Below is his report for  the beauty and personal care segments:

Unilever delivered improved volume growth in the first quarter. This was driven by our Power Brands which saw underlying sales growth of 6.1%, with strong performances from Dove, Knorr, Rexona and Sunsilk.

Beauty & Wellbeing grew underlying sales by 7.4%, with volume growth of 5.6% driven by continued double-digit growth from Health & Wellbeing and Prestige Beauty. Personal Care grew 4.8% with 1.4% from volume despite a particularly strong prior year comparator, according to the announcement.

In Beauty & Wellbeing, we are focused on three key priorities that will drive the unmissable superiority of our brands: elevating our core Hair Care and Skin Care brands to increase premiumisation; fuelling the growth of Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing with selective international expansion; and continuing to strengthen our beauty and wellbeing capabilities.

Beauty & Wellbeing underlying sales grew 7.4% with 5.6% from volume and 1.7% from price.

Hair Care delivered mid-single digit growth with positive volume and price. Dove grew high-single digit supported by the launch of Scalp+ Hair Therapy, which is clinically proven to create optimal scalp health and hair density. Clear, the world’s best-selling shampoo for men, grew high-single digit helped by the continued rollout of our patented anti-dandruff shampoo. Sunsilk grew double-digit while TRESemmé grew high-single digit and continued to expand its ultra-gloss Lamellar Shine shampoos and conditioners to new markets.

Core Skin Care grew mid-single digit with good growth in India and the US. This growth was partially offset by a low-single digit decline in North Asia driven by price. Vaseline grew double-digit with the successful rollout of Gluta Hya body care to new markets and the launch of new variants, including our Smooth and Glow range which offers the first body lotion with chemical exfoliation. Following the relaunch last year, Pond’s face care continued its good momentum with high-single digit growth led by volume.

Health & Wellbeing delivered another quarter of double-digit growth with the expansion of Liquid IV in the UK and strong contributions from Olly and Nutrafol. In Q1, we extended Nutrafol into skin care with a physician-formulated daily supplement for women designed to address the root causes of acne. Prestige Beauty grew double-digit led by Tatcha, Hourglass and Living Proof.

Personal Care (23% of Q1 Group turnover)

In Personal Care, we are focused on winning with science-led brands that deliver unmissable superiority to our consumers across Deodorants, Skin Cleansing, and Oral Care. Our priorities include developing superior technology and multi-year innovation platforms, leveraging partnerships with our customers, and expanding into premium areas and digital channels.

Personal Care underlying sales grew 4.8% with 1.4% from volume and 3.4% from price.

Deodorants grew double-digit with high-single digit volume growth. Growth was led by strong performances in Europe and Latin America. Dove double-digit growth was helped by the US launch of Whole Body Deodorants with 72-hour odour control for full-body freshness. Rexona and Axe contributed strong growth with continued momentum of our multi-year platforms, 72-hour nonstop odour and sweat protection and our Fine Fragrance range.

Skin Cleansing was flat with low-single digit price offset by volume declines. Q1 growth was impacted by deflation in India and market challenges in Indonesia. Dove grew high-single digit with mid-single digit volume growth. In the US, we launched a premium range of Dove Body Wash infused with clinically proven skin care serums including hyaluronic acid, collagen and vitamin C.

Oral Care continued to grow mid-single digit with positive volume and price, led by double-digit growth in Closeup.