Unilever’s focus on purpose across its brands has been a source of criticism from some of its investors. Its new CEO Hein Schumacher says the company now recognises there are some brands where the concept is simply not relevant.
Esi Eggleston Bracey, who headed up Unilever’s USA business, will take on the new role of chief growth and marketing officer – a departure from predecessor Conny Braams’ chief digital and commercial officer title.
The FMCG giant has created a ‘coalition of partners’ to help content creators feel more confident when posting about sustainability.
Return on marketing investment cannot solely be judged by whether volume sales grow, Unilever CFO Graeme Pitkethly has told an audience of investors and financial analysts.
Unilever’s new CEO, Hein Schumacher, has said the company will focus on ensuring its products perform better than the competition as it seeks to grow its margins and return to volume growth.
Unilever chief digital and commercial officer Conny Braams will leave after over three years leading marketing at the company, in a tenure which saw an increased focus on digital and breaking down “silos” between sales and marketing.
Outgoing Unilever CEO, Alan Jope, said its top performing brands are benefitting from the “strongest innovation line-up” it has had for years.
The FMCG giant has invested in 29 digital marketing and ecommerce hubs to ensure the business succeeds in the “channel of the future.”
Hein Schumacher says he is convinced of Unilever’s “growth potential” and promises to deliver a “step-up in business performance”.
Having branded the company’s focus on purpose “ludicrous” in 2022, fund manager Terry Smith has again accused Unilever of “virtue signalling”.
CMO Julien Barraux is on a mission to find Unilever’s next billion-euro brand, as its ice cream brands enter a new era as their own business group.
Unilever plans to continue increasing marketing spend until the end of 2022, as the business fights to maintain market share in the current inflationary environment.
With CEO Alan Jope set to leave, Unilever faces battles not only with investors aiming to deprioritise brand purpose, but with its own Ben & Jerry’s brand, which is suing it for abandoning purpose commitments.
When Jope’s successor takes over as CEO in 2024, they will take on challenges ranging from brand purpose to sustainability, and digitalisation to the long-term impact of inflation.
Jope is to retire from the FMCG business at the end of 2023, having led on a series of structural and strategic changes at the company since he took over in 2019.