Unilever Sees Sales Growth in 2024, Driven by Beauty Segment

Unilever has reported impressive full-year sales in 2024, thanks to an uptick in beauty demand. Sales rose by 4.2%, with turnover reaching €60.8bn, largely driven by the company’s well-known ‘power brands’ such as Dove, Rexona, and Sunsilk.

Unilever Sees Sales Growth in 2024, Driven by Beauty Segment. The Beauty & Wellbeing division saw a 6.5% increase in sales, while Personal Care grew by 5.2%. This growth is a result of the ongoing “premiumisation” of Unilever’s Hair Care and Skin Care portfolio. Along with Prestige Beauty, this combination made up 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, in particular, saw mid-single digit growth, driven by strong performance from Sunsilk, which was relaunched in 2023 with new product formats. Dove also contributed to growth, especially with its Scalp + Hair Therapy line, designed to improve scalp health and hair density. TRESemmé also saw growth following the launch of the Lamellar Shine collection.

Vaseline’s expansion of its Gluta-Hya range into new markets helped support the Skin Care division, while Dove’s new body serums and 3-in-1 face care treatments in Brazil, Mexico, and the US added to the brand’s success.

Unilever Sees Sales Growth in 2024, Driven by Beauty Segment. “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.

However, the performance in China was more subdued, with market weakness observed across all categories except for Foods. In South East Asia, 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,” Unilever said in a statement.

The company is also rumored to be adding refillable personal care brand Wild to its beauty portfolio. Unilever is reportedly in the final stages of a deal worth £230m, which could be announced in the coming weeks.