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Unilever makes Dove soap, Hellmann's condiments and Marmite spread

Unilever leads pack on price rises

Unilever has raised prices faster than its biggest rivals P&G and Nestle since the middle of 2021, in a replay of its strategy during the 2007-09 financial crisis.

Business • 14 Nov 22

Unilever's margins have been squeezed since the start of the war in Ukraine that has pushed up costs of energy and key ingredients

Unilever downbeat on Europe, China consumer sentiment

Unilever has given a dire assessment of consumer sentiment in Europe and China, two of its key markets, but raised its full year sales forecast as it lifted prices to counter soaring costs.

Business • 27 Oct 22

Unilver said its CEO Alan Jope plans to retire at the end of 2023 after five years in the role

Unilever CEO Alan Jope to retire at end of 2023

UK consumer goods giant Unilever said today that its chief executive officer Alan Jope plans to retire at the end of 2023 after five years in the role.

Business • 26 Sep 22

Unilever's costs have surged since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic created global supply chain logjams

Unilever ups sales guidance after beating forecast

Unilever raised its full-year sales guidance after beating first-half underlying sales forecasts as the maker of Dove soap and Knorr stock cubes hiked prices to counter soaring costs, sending its shares up 2.9%.

Business • 26 Jul 22

Alan Jope, chief executive officer of Unilever, attended the conference in Dublin this week

Global food makers, retailers remain in crisis mode

Global retailers and consumer goods makers remain in crisis mode and expect consumer behavior to remain unpredictable for the foreseeable future, top industry executives told a conference in Dublin this week.

Business • 22 Jun 22

Unilever has tied up with US-based Genomatica to build and commercialise alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients

Unilever switches ingredients to adapt to shortages

As commodities - from crude oil to sunflower oil - remain in short supply, Unilever has changed the ingredient makeup for some of its products like deodorants and packaged food to cut costs and mitigate supply constraints.

Business • 16 Jun 22

Unilever warned today that it expected to raise prices further, increasing its forecast for cost inflation in the second half of the year to €2.7 billion

Unilever hikes prices as costs pressure builds

Unilever has today beaten first-quarter sales forecasts as the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream hiked prices by over 8% to offset higher supply chain and energy costs, more than outweighing a dip in sales volumes.

Business • 28 Apr 22

Consumer products companies, including Unilever, say that everyday people in Russia rely on their products

Basic necessities makers face 'tradeoff' on Russia

Makers of everyday staples from Pampers nappies to Dove soap are walking a fine line by continuing to sell their products in Russia, as pressure grows on multinational companies to take a stand against Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine.

Business • 09 Mar 22

KitKat owner Nestle said it is expecting organic sales to grow 4-6% over the medium term

Nestle expects slower growth this year after good 2021

Food group Nestle said today it expected underlying sales to rise around 5% and a broadly stable margin this year after strong demand for coffee and pet food as well as price hikes helped growth accelerate ahead of expectations in the fourth quarter.

Business • 17 Feb 22

Unilever has reported a 4.9% rise in fourth-quarter underlying sales as people continue to eat more at home

Unilever warns of high inflation, rules out big M&A

Unilever has warned of a big hit to profit margins this year as it struggles to pass on higher costs to consumers, and ruled out major acquisitions after investor criticism of its failed pursuit of GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business.

Business • 10 Feb 22

The maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice cream employs about 149,000 people around the world

Unilever to cut 1,500 management jobs in overhaul

Unilever has today unveiled plans to cut about 1,500 management jobs in an overhaul aimed at easing shareholders' concerns after a failed takeover bid and news that an activist investor had built a stake in the consumer goods giant.

Business • 25 Jan 22

GSK has rejected three bids from Unilever for its consumer arm

Unilever won't raise rejected bid for GSK consumer arm

Unilever has effectively abandoned its plans to buy GlaxoSmithKline's consumer healthcare business, saying that it would not raise its £50 billion offer that GSK previously rejected.

Business • 20 Jan 22

Unilever's £50 billion approach for GSK's consumer health business has been rejected

Unilever says GSK consumer arm 'strong strategic fit'

Unilever today signalled it would pursue a deal for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business, calling it a "strong strategic fit" after its £50 billion offer was rejected, sending its shares down 6%.

Business • 17 Jan 22

Chanel was founded in 1910 by fashion legend Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel as a hat boutique on rue Cambon in Paris

Chanel hires Unilever consumer goods veteran as CEO

French fashion house Chanel has named Leena Nair, an executive from Unilever, as its new global CEO, picking a consumer goods veteran to run one of the world's biggest luxury goods groups.

Business • 14 Dec 21

The tea business being sold hosts a portfolio of 34 tea brands including Lyons, Lipton, PG Tips, Pukka Herbs and TAZO

Unilever bags €4.5 billion deal with CVC for tea unit

Unilever has agreed to sell its global tea business to CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion, concluding a process of reviewing and spinning off the division that took more than two years.

Business • 19 Nov 21

Unilever is keeping its full-year profit margin guidance as it raised prices to cope with rising costs

Unilever warns of even higher inflation next year

Consumer goods giant Unilever has today warned that inflation was likely to accelerate next year, keeping the pressure on consumer goods companies as they hike prices to try to offset surging energy and other costs.

Business • 21 Oct 21

Unilevr said its H1 sales came in 5.4% higher, above the 4.3% forecast and ahead of the group's mid-term target of 3-5% growth

Inflation worries overshadow Unilever's strong H1

Unilever has today reported higher-than-expected underlying sales growth for the second quarter and first half as consumers cooked more meals at home.

Business • 22 Jul 21

Unilever said a poll it conducted showed that more than half the respondents felt using 'normal' to describe hair or skin made people feel excluded

Unilever to exclude word 'normal' from beauty products

Dove soap maker Unilever will remove the word "normal" from its beauty and personal care products, as well as stop digital alterations of body shapes and skin colour of models used in its advertising in a push to be more inclusive.

Business • 09 Mar 21

Underlying sales rose 3.5% at the Anglo-Dutch maker of Dove soap, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Tresemme shampoo

Unilever's underlying sales growth jumps 3.5% in Q4

Consumer goods giant Unilever has today reported underlying sales growth for the fourth quarter that was in line with estimates, buoyed by strong demand in emerging markets.

Business • 04 Feb 21

Unilever expands its partnership with Burger King to supply its plant-based meat patties in Latin America, the Caribbean and China

Unilever expands burger deal with Burger King

Unilever said today it had expanded its partnership with Burger King to supply its plant-based meat patties for Whopper burgers at restaurants in Latin America, the Caribbean and China.

Business • 23 Dec 20

Unilever said all 81 staff members at its offices across New Zealand will be able to participate in the four day working week trial

Unilever to try out 4-day working week in New Zealand

Global consumer goods giant Unilever said today it was poised to try out a four-day working week for all its New Zeland employees.

Business • 01 Dec 20

The merger over the weekend of Unilever's Dutch and British corporate arms into one legal entity based in London will end 90 years as a hybrid company

Unilever merges Dutch & UK corporate arms this weekend

Unilever's Dutch shares will trade in Amsterdam for the last time today, before a unification of its dual-headed structure that aims to put the consumer goods maker on a better footing to cope with an uncertain future.

Business • 27 Nov 20

Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment set for Stoxx 500 index listing

Flutter to join Stoxx 50 as Unilever exits on HQ move

Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment will replace Unilever in one of the euro area's main stock benchmarks, the result of a technical change brought about by the consumer goods giant becoming ineligible.

Business • 26 Nov 20

Unilever said its underlying sales in the third quarter rose by 4.4%.

Unilever's third-quarter sales return to growth

Unilever has today reported a stronger-than-expected return to sales growth in the third quarter, led by emerging markets where it generates the bulk of its revenue.

Business • 22 Oct 20

The votes end a hybrid structure that dates back to the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie in the Netherlands

End of an era as Unilever UK shareholders back plan

Shareholders in Unilever have approved the company's plan to end its 90-year-old dual-headed structure in favour of a single London-based entity, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company said.

Business • 13 Oct 20