Unilever has reported a steady start to its 2026 financial year in the conglomerate's first quarterly update since divesting its food division in March.
Underlying sales growth (USG) in the first quarter increased 3.8%, with volume growth of 2.9% and price growth of 0.9%.
However, overall turnover decreased by 3.3% to €12.6bn, as positives from USG and net acquisitions and disposals were offset by currency fluctuations.
Volume growth was led by Unilever’s Power Brands – a group of 30 core companies, including Dove, Vaseline and Sunsilk, that contributed 75% of sales – which grew underlying sales by 5%.
“We have started the year well with volume-led growth driven by our Power Brands and a positive performance across all business groups,” said Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez.
“There is broad-based momentum across our emerging markets business, with a strong performance in India, and a good recovery in Latin America following the decisive actions we have taken in that region.”
Unilever’s beauty and wellbeing division jumped 3.6% during the quarter, driven by a solid performance from Dove and Vaseline, and a return to volume growth in Sunsilk.
However, wellbeing specifically declined in the low single-digits against a very strong first quarter in 2025.
Unilever’s personal care division also increased by 3.7%, with 1.1% from volume and 2.5% from price.
Deodorants returned to growth in Latin America following actions to improve Unilever’s format mix in the Brazilian market.
Hair care also benefited from Dove, which delivered double-digit growth following the 2025 launch of its Fibre Repair technology range.
Performance was further supported by double-digit growth in India and a return to volume growth in both Sunsilk and Clear.
India, which is seeing increasing attention from the beauty industry in 2026, saw sales rise 7%, driven by 6% underlying volume growth led by hair care.
The hair category’s overall growth was offset slightly by the impact of delisting unprofitable hair care brands in the US in 2025.
Unilever’s skin care division grew thanks to Vaseline, which delivered double-digit volume growth supported by the launch of the Gluta-Hya Lip Serum Gloss.
Fernandez added: “We continue to move at speed to build a simpler, sharper Unilever with a structurally higher growth profile and a brand portfolio fit for the future.”
Unilever offloaded its food business in March after much speculation, as the British consumer goods goliath pivots its focus to beauty, personal care, wellness and home care – with Cosmetics Business investigating whether this was the right move for the business.
The US$44.8bn deal merger will combine Unilever Foods, the giant’s food arm – which includes brands such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Marmite – with American food conglomerate McCormick & Company’s brand portfolio.
Together with the spice maker’s brands – such as Cholula, Maille and Frank’s – Unilever anticipates the spin-off to generate revenues of $20bn based on fiscal year 2025 data.
In an update, Unilever stated that the merger is expected to be fully realised by mid-2027.
Fernandez continued: “In March, we announced an agreement to combine Unilever’s food business with McCormick [& Company], unlocking value by shaping Unilever into a leading pureplay HPC company and creating a global flavour powerhouse in foods.
“Despite heightened macroeconomic uncertainty, the progress we are making to elevate our brands through ‘Desire at Scale’ and improve operational execution means we remain confident of delivering on our guidance for the year ahead.”
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