Unilever is #2 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2023 Report

Unilever is #2 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2023 Report.

Corporate Sales:

$64.2 billion

Beauty Sales:

$27.6 billion

Key Personnel:

• Hein Schumacher, chief executive officer
• Graeme Pitkethly, chief financial officer
• Conny Braams, chief digital & commercial officer
• Reginaldo Ecclissato, chief business operations and supply chain officer
• Fernando Fernandez, business group president, beauty & wellbeing
• Rohit Jawa, president, Unilever, South Asia and CEO designate, Hindustan Unilever 
• Sanjiv Mehta, president, Unilever, South Asia and chair/ managing director, Hindustan Unilever.

Major Products/Brands: 

Axe, Dove, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Sunsilk, Vaseline. Paula’s Choice, Hourglass, Nutrafol.

New Products:

Axe Fine Fragrance Collection
Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint
Lifebuoy Vita Protect Bodywash
Dove Body Wash featuring 24-hour Renewing Micro-Moisture
Dove Hair Therapy
Sunsilk Stunning Black Shine Shampoo
Degree Advanced 72H
Vaseline Intensive Care lotions with Ultra-Hydrating Lipids

Unilever's Sales Climb

Corporate sales climbed 14.5% to about $63.1 billion led by 14 “billion-euro” brands that include Dove, Rexona, Lux, Lifebuoy, Sunsilk and Axe which accounted for 53% of group turnover in 2022. The company also pointed to “simpler, more category-focused organization, in place since July 1, as a driver of greater operational focus and faster decisions.

Unilever’s Beauty & Wellbeing unit, which accounted for 20% of the group turnover, saw its underlying sales grow by 7.8% driven by price. Volumes were slightly positive at +0.3%. Growth was price-led in core Skin Care and Hair Care, while it was volume-led in Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing.

Hair Care grew mid-single digit, helped by strong performances of Sunsilk and Nexxus. Growth was driven by Latin America, India and Turkey, partially offset by Europe and China where sales were affected by pandemic-related restrictions. Skin Care grew low-single digit. South Asia and South East Asia delivered strong growth, helped by Lifebuoy and rollout of the Vaseline premium Gluta-Hya innovation, while sales of AHC declined in North Asia.

Prestige Beauty delivered another year of double-digit growth, with strong contributions from Paula’s Choice and Hourglass which continued its expansion into China, as well as Living Proof, which entered the bond-building premium hair care category. Liquid IV and Olly drove strong double-digit growth in Health & Wellbeing. The acquisition of Nutrafol, a leading provider of hair wellness products, was completed in July.

Unilever’s Personal Care unit, which represented 23% of group turnover, saw underlying sales grow 7.9% with 12.1% from price while volume declined 3.7% from volume. The volume decline was higher in Skin Cleansing.

Deodorants performed strongly, delivering double-digit price and positive volume growth. This was supported by continued premiumization and innovations, such as the 72-hour protection technology from Rexona. Skin Cleansing grew high single-digits with strong price increases in response to the input cost inflation. While this led to a volume decline, volumes held up better in North America, supported by premium innovations such as the Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash with microbiome nutrient serum that delivers a further improved skincare experience.

Unilever's 2022-2023 Highlights

In January 2023, Unilever appointed Hein Schumacher its new CEO, replacing Alan Jope who retired in September 2022. Schumacher was previously CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal Friesland Campina and became a non-executive director of Unilever in October last year. He began his role as Unilever CEO on July 1, 2023.

In February 2023, Unilever announced the sale of its Suave brand in North America to Yellow Wood Partners LLC. The Suave beauty and personal care brand includes hair care, skin care, skin cleansing and deodorant products. Suave will continue to be owned and operated by Unilever outside of the U.S. and Canada.

In May 2023, CFO Graeme Pitkethly, announced he would retire from the company in May 2024.

Looking Ahead

Outgoing CEO Alan Jope commented that he expected Unilever to deliver strong underlying sales growth in 2023, with improving volume performance and competitiveness as the year progressed. He also predicted cost inflation to continue in 2023, noting that it was too early to say whether volume will turn positive in the second half. “We expect 2023 underlying sales growth to be at least in the upper half of our multi-year range of 3-5%,” he said. 

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