Unilever thanks ‘power brands’ for sales bump as Marmite-maker steams ahead with turnaround plan

Consumer giant Unilever said sales of its most popular brands such as Dove soap helped drive growth in the first quarter.

The Marmite-maker’s beauty and wellbeing category performed the strongest, with sales increasing 7.4 per cent to €3.2bn (£2.75bn). 

The maker of popular household products including Hellman’s mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, said its personal care arm, which sells items such as deodorant, also saw sales rise 4.8 per cent to  €3.4bn (£2.9bn). 

Turnover increased 1.4 per cent  to €15bn (£12bn) with volume growth increasing to 2.2 per cent. 

Unilever is currently in the midst of a turnaround plan which will see five per cent of its workforce cut and its ice cream business – which makes Ben and Jerry’s – sold off. 

The Unilever board said on Thursday it expects the sale to be completed by 2025. 

They said: “In March, we announced the planned separation of ice cream which we expect to be completed by the end of 2025. 

“The separation will create a world-leading business, operating in a highly attractive category with five of the top 10 selling global ice cream brands.”

Hein Schumacher, Unilever’s new chief executive, has been quite vocal in recent months about the company’s shoddy performance. 

In an update at the start of the year, he described the brand’s competitiveness as “disappointing” and said “overall performance” needed to improve.

Shares in Unilever fell nine per cent last year as inflation ate into its profit margins and allegations of greenwashing bruised the company’s reputation. 

Commenting on the first quarter performance he said: “Unilever’s transformation is at an early stage, but we have increasing confidence in our ability to deliver sustained volume growth and positive mix as we accelerate gross margin expansion.”

“Unilever delivered improved volume growth in the first quarter. This was driven by our Power Brands which saw underlying sales growth of 6.1 per cent, with strong performances from Dove, Knorr, Rexona and Sunsilk.”

He added: “We are implementing the Growth Action Plan at speed, focused on three clear priorities: delivering higher-quality growth, creating a simpler and more productive business, and embedding a strong performance focus. This is underpinned by our commitment to do fewer things, better and with greater impact.”