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When it comes to personal care, today’s consumers demand more than hygiene products. They want premium brand experiences that help them feel confident, spark joy and deliver on their individual needs.
In Unilever’s Personal Care business, we’ve moved beyond functional products. We’re repositioning our portfolio around desire, with innovative, premium products that we know consumers want and marketing that embeds our brands in culture to generate social-first demand.
And we’re already seeing results, with 4.8% growth in the first half of 2025 (PDF 572.49 KB) and increased market share.
It all starts with desire. Fragrances that captivate. Formulas that deliver scientifically proven superior benefits that consumers can feel and see.
Aesthetics that appeal in-store, online and on bathroom shelves. Like our Dove serum shower collection. Launched last year, the line uses ingredients more often found in high-end facial skincare products, in a body wash format. Its patented MicroMoisture technology helps protect the skin barrier by keeping skin moisturised long after the shower.
Meanwhile Axe has upgraded body spray with the launch of the Axe Fine Fragrance collection – a range of sophisticated scents crafted in collaboration with expert perfumers. Sleek packaging, marketing that acts on insights to connect with Gen Z consumers and rave reviews in blind smell-tests all add to its attraction.
Our whole-body deodorants are also driving growth, expanding Unilever’s thriving deodorants business in some of our biggest markets. We acted on clear consumer trends and launched this premium innovation in three formats and across four brands, and it’s currently available in 13 markets. Whole-body deodorants is our largest cross-brand, cross-market innovation launch in PC – with more to come.
A vital part of our strategy is ensuring our brands show up where our consumers are – and I don’t just mean where they’re shopping. We’re embedding our brands in culture, through stories and moments that are relevant, engaging and memorable. We use these activation platforms to win the hearts and minds of consumers all over the world.
In sport, Unilever’s Personal Care brands are Official Sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ – set to be the biggest cultural event in history with 48 teams, 104 matches and 6 billion viewers globally. We will be activating our Power Brands in more than 120 markets. From the stadium to fan zones, limited editions, in-store activations and lots more. We’re incredibly excited to see our brands at the heart of the action.
In music, Dove launched its Whole Body Deodorant among the excitement of Grammy winner Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour, with product drops and branded mirrors at venues, inspiring a rush of real-time creator content. The partnership connected with 34,000 fans at shows, reached 17.4 million users through influencer content and almost doubled Dove’s share in the whole-body deodorant market in one year.
And the creative collaborations don’t stop there. Dove’s collab with viral dessert company Crumbl saw the launch of a limited-edition product line in Walmart. We came up with products inspired by fans’ favourite flavours, even turning Dove’s packaging pink for the first time. Dove partnered with Crumbl superfans, scoring 53 million video views, and over 3.5 billion social impressions. The range hit its six-month sales target in the first four weeks and over half of shoppers were new to Dove. Brand growth in record time!
To connect with consumers among the distracting swirl of social media, we know our brands must capture their attention, and be relevant to them, and that’s why social-first demand generation is also key to our transformation.
Powered by real-time insights, our teams are creating more than 300 assets a week per brand, turning cultural sparks into commerce and enabling us to evolve from advertisers into community-builders, creators and data-driven demand makers. Crafting content that’s optimised for engagement and sales, we are tapping into communities to help shape conversations that feel authentic, and collaborations with creators and influencers that have empathy, relevance and intention.
Dove’s award-winning, creator-led #ShareTheFirst campaign challenged beauty standards through culturally relevant storytelling, encouraging women to post their first, unfiltered photo rather than a picture-perfect shot. It earned over 1 billion impressions and increased purchase intent among girls and women.
Lux also has adopted a social-first marketing strategy with its #MyFirstLike social-first campaign, which invited women to like their own posts. With endorsements from influencers and celebrities, the brand empowered women to drop a heart or Like on their own posts as a bold declaration of self-love, flipping a familiar social script.
Axe became unmissable among its target audience of Gen Z guys with the launch of its limited-edition Lynx Catnip range. Acting on research that revealed 60% of cat owners wouldn’t date someone their pet disliked, the brand came up with a catnip oil-infused body spray that smelt great to humans and felines. Influencer content achieved over 164,000 organic views, brand conversations rocketed by 185% and the fragrance soon had a sizable waiting list.
And I was particularly excited about the ‘Locker Room’ - a round-the-clock social content hub we ran during this summer’s sporting events with Rexona, enabling the brand to lead the conversation, not just join it, during tournaments.
The result? Athletes and creators popping up in our content, giveaways, live reactions and social buzz that drove engagement and cultural relevance on TikTok and Instagram.
We’re crafting emotionally relevant brands that elevate everyday rituals into real moments of delight. It’s about carefully considered aesthetics, irresistible sensorials, advanced, innovative formulas and products that offer more across every touchpoint.
And we’re raising the bar on brand activation and experiences, creating memorable cultural moments that resonate online and in real life.
It’s an exciting time for the category and with our global footprint and portfolio of Power Brands, we’re well placed to lead this growth.
Dove’s limited-edition range with the viral Crumbl dessert company sold like hot cakes earlier this year. More than half its buyers are new to Dove and the social-first marketing campaign sparked over 3.2 billion impressions. Here’s the sweet success story.
Fine fragrances, humour and a social-first approach have seen Axe body spray transform Gen Z engagement, win awards and sales. Caroline Gregory, Axe Global Brand Director, explains how.
Fresh from her keynote address at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, discusses how we’re transforming our approach to marketing to deliver what we call Desire at Scale.
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