Unilever has reported bumper full-year sales following an uplift in beauty demand in 2024.
Sales increased by 4.2% and turnover reached €60.8bn, which was driven by the consumer giant’s ‘power brands’ including Dove, Rexona and Sunsilk.
Beauty & Wellbeing sales increased by 6.5% and Personal Care grew by 5.2%, reflecting the ongoing “premiumisation” of Unilever’s core Hair Care and Skin Care portfolio.
Along with Prestige Beauty, the combination accounted for 30% of the beauty category’s turnover.
“Today’s results reflect a year of significant activity as we focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher-performing business,” said Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher.
“Under the Growth Action Plan, we committed to doing fewer things, better and with greater impact.
“We executed the plan at pace and made progress in 2024.”
Hair Care grew mid-single digits and was led by a strong performance from hair care brand Sunsilk, which was relaunched in 2023 and introduced new product formats.
Dove also supported the category thanks to increased demand for its Scalp + Hair Therapy, which is designed to improve scalp health and hair density.
TRESemmé, meanwhile, grew mid-single digits following the launch of the Lamellar Shine collection.
Vaseline’s recent expansion of its Gluta-Hya range into new markets supported Unilever’s Skin Care division.
Dove also benefited from the launch of its body serums and 3-in-1 face care treatments in Brazil, Mexico and most recently in the US.
“We continue to sharpen our portfolio, allocating capital to premium segments by acquiring scalable brands in attractive markets, such as K18 and Minimalist, and announcing the divestment of local food brands,” added Schumacher.
China saw a more subdued performance during the year, however, with market weakness across all categories apart from Foods.
In South East Asia, volume-led growth in the Philippines and Thailand was offset by an 8.7% decline in Indonesia.
“In the second half, we took decisive actions by correcting misaligned pricing across channels and resetting stock levels in retail, while also addressing our long-standing issues of portfolio, brand and competitiveness,” said Unilever in a statement.
Unilever is allegedly set to add refillable personal care brand Wild to its beauty portfolio.
The consumer goods giant is rumoured to have agreed to terms which would see it acquire Wild from its founders and early-stage investors, according to a report by Sky News.
A deal could be announced within weeks, a source allegedly told the publication and is estimated to be worth £230m.