To drive brand superiority, global FMCG major Unilever has developed a new quantitative methodology to measure brands’ consumer appeal across multiple dimensions and have validated it in 29 strategic cells. During the first half of 2024, this will be rolled out across all 30 of Unilever’s Power Brands in key geographies to identify performance gaps and improve competitiveness.
In October 2023, Unilever set out a Growth Action Plan to drive improved performance and competitiveness of its businesses and brands such Lifebuoy, Surf, Axe, Knorr, Dove and Ben & Jerry’s.
The plan is divided into three elements but is underpinned by the following premise: the need to do fewer things, better, with greater impact.
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As part of the Growth Action Plan, Unilever reiterated its strategies for faster growth with focus on the 30 Power Brands. These gross margin accretive brands represented around 75 percent of Group turnover with underlying sales growth of 8.6 percent in 2023 and 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter. This is where Unilever has concentrated its incremental brand and marketing investment, which will continue in 2024.
“The new leadership team has embedded the action plan at pace. We have increased investment behind our 30 Power Brands, accelerated portfolio transformation, and are driving a sharper performance focus with clear and stretching targets across the whole organisation,” said Hein Schumacher, CEO, Unilever.
He added, “We are at the early stages of this work and there is much to do but we are moving with speed and urgency to transform Unilever into a consistently higher performing business.”