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Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing is a €13.2 billion powerhouse with a portfolio spanning haircare, skincare and wellbeing products. In 2024, this thriving business group grew underlying sales by 6.5%, with volume growth of 5.1%.
At Unilever we believe beauty and wellbeing are inextricably linked, and understanding this connection inspires our innovation, creativity and business growth.
Beauty and wellbeing are deeply interconnected. Enhancing one enhances the other, and compromising one compromises both. How you feel influences how you look. How you look influences how you feel.
In transforming our organisation by bringing beauty and wellbeing together within Unilever, we’re reflecting a clear shift in consumer behaviour. People don’t see beauty and wellness as separate. They are seeking solutions that support physical appearance and mental wellbeing, and positively contribute to overall health. We’re delivering products that seamlessly unite the desire for beauty while delivering on the demand for wellbeing benefits.
Earlier this year, we commissioned a significant study of 4,000 people across the UK, US, India and Brazil. Nine in ten people said they believed beauty and wellbeing were connected, and 93% of respondents said it was important for the industry to take action to promote both beauty and wellbeing.
So we’re doing just that. Beauty and wellbeing as categories will continue to blur, as consumers want products that can deliver on both sides simultaneously.
We’re delivering personalised beauty and wellbeing solutions at scale, tailored to the diverse needs of the communities we serve. And we’re working on how we can increase access to our products around the world.
The multiple interconnections between beauty and wellbeing are scientifically established. Unilever’s R&D teams have generated deep, actionable insights into this space, discovering links between wellness and beauty, for more than two decades as revolutions in digital and genomic insights have changed our world.
Over the years, our domain experts in areas spanning skin and hair biology, the microbiome, nutrition, neuronal and sensory science have deeply investigated this convergence. For example, we’ve led discoveries on the correlation between systemic cortisol levels and perceived ageing. We’ve pioneered research into the impact of sleep on the appearance and health of scalp and hair.
And we've gathered a wealth of knowledge to forge the largest proprietary skin microbiome databases in the world. Unilever scientists, in partnership with the Microbiome Innovation Centre and the Brain & Behaviour Lab at the University of Liverpool, were the first to establish a clear connection between the skin microbiome and wellbeing.
Our findings, published across 13,000+ academic papers and secured by more than 20,000 patents, reveal strong links and an opportunity to bring together our beauty and wellbeing expertise, capabilities and global footprint to exceed consumer expectations and grow our brands.
By bringing together and further interconnecting our knowledge and capabilities using digital and AI, we’re unlocking talent, knowledge and expertise across the business. That means we’re able to advance market-leading innovation at scale and design products with wellbeing benefits that go beyond face value.
It also allows us to show up as a portfolio of highly desirable beauty brands, backed by insight, innovation, product sensorials, fragrances, packs, formats and marketing. We’re delivering products that meet both aesthetic desires and beauty benefits, and we’re better able to integrate into people’s lives, giving them exactly what they’re asking for.
By powering our brands with unmissable superiority, we’re driving growth in key markets and categories.
The rapid expansion of our Nutrafol, OLLY and Liquid I.V. brands shows that consumers are searching for lifestyle-driven, science-grounded products that support how they look and how they feel with proven results.
Taking another example from one of Unilever’s most established brands, the Vaseline Gluta-Hya range continues to be one of our top-performing premium innovations and is now sold in more than 20 markets after launching in Thailand four years ago. Hyperpigmentation and sunspots are major skin concerns – they are also sources of emotional distress, which can exacerbate skin ageing. The Gluta-Hya Serum Burst SPF50 contains Vaseline’s unique GlutaGLOW technology, which combines high sun protection with radiance-boosting, hyperpigmentation-reducing beauty benefits.
And Unilever’s biggest brand, Dove, is also seeing growth from SKUs that bring together beauty and wellbeing. Hair thinning and hair fall can profoundly affect a person’s wellbeing and self-confidence. The Dove Scalp + Hair Therapy range elevates what was once a clinical and generic segment into one that’s delivered through a beautiful sensory experience. The range supports scalp health, nourishing and caring for the scalp to create the right foundation for hair to thrive, while elevating everyday care into a holistic wellness experience with standout sensorials, fragrances, textures and packaging design.
With a legacy spanning more than 150 years, Vaseline remains an undisputed beauty icon – and it’s not standing still. The Unilever Power Brand is winning growth by engaging with new audiences through viral moments and smart social-first campaigns. Here’s how.
What is premiumisation? What do we mean by masstige? And how are innovation, branding and desire driving growth for our brands? Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing’s Chief Marketing Officer Leandro Barreto shares his answers…
Groundbreaking research reveals for the first time that the skin microbiome on four skin areas – the face, scalp, forearm and underarm – is associated with psychological wellbeing. The Unilever team behind the discovery explain their findings.
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