Unilever reveals the world's consumer habits — FYI, your hygiene routine has changed
Check the armpits... Odds are, a Unilever product is on (or in) your body. The giant Anglo-Dutch conglomerate makes everything from Dove soap to Lipton tea to Axe body spray. It also boasts the world's largest ice cream biz, with brands like Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, and the Magnum-making swirly red heart brand whose name inexplicably changes in every European country.
- Unilever is a mirror into the world's consumer habits — its wide variety of everyday products sell in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. 70% of its sales come from outside the Americas.
- Unilever brought in $13.4B in sales for the last quarter (nearly $2B for ice cream sales alone), with flat overall growth compared to last year. More interestingly, its latest earnings report reveals the world's shifting buying and using habits.
“Less hair washing”... An actual line from Unilever’s earnings presentation — it knows you're using less of its big TRESemmé bottles. As the WFH and Zoom-in-your-undies life takes over, people are doing less shaving, hair washing, and deodorizing — 11 fewer "personal care" usages every week.
- Personal care products like deodorant and shampoo were hoarded at the beginning of lockdown — now they're being used (and bought) way less.
- In-home food products like Ben & Jerry's pints and Hellman's mayo saw a sales surge, but out-of-home food sales plummeted as most restaurants, movie theaters, and public venues closed. Classic see-saw effect.
Move over middleman — big Retail can go D2C alone... We're used to young, sexy startups living the direct-to-consumer life. Old consumer brands usually rely on the likes of Walmart, Costco and Target to hawk their goods. But in the lockdown crisis, 91-year-old Unilever is making a digital push and ramping up its D2C investments. Unilever's online sales grew 36% this quarter — ecommerce now makes up around 7% of its biz.