Unilever has identified India as an anchor market and will “double down” on beauty, well-being, and personal care space to drive growth in 2026, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) parent Fernando Fernandez told analysts in a post-earnings call on February 12.
The comments come as HUL readies plans to “obsessively focus” on volume growth while also growing the premiumisation strategies across categories.
"When it comes to our growth priorities... they involve honing in and doubling down on our biggest growth opportunities, across categories with more beauty, more well-being, more personal care across geographies with the US and India as clear anchor markets for Unilever, and across segments and channels focusing on premiumising the portfolio and further increasing our exposure to e-commerce," Fernandez said.
HUL, which is the largest Indian consumer goods company, expects growth to be better in FY27 on account of steady demand from both rural and urban markets.
"In India, it's improving both in terms of economic backgrounds and the fundamentals of the business. Particularly, the strengthening of our brand equities and brand superiority scores in India, are improving across the board. Our execution, particularly in rural areas and traditional trade, independent trade, is also improving," Fernandez told analysts.
HUL is banking on improving rural disposable incomes, supported by easing inflation and recent tax measures, to drive volume growth as its products deepen penetration in the hinterlands, its management said in an earnings call.
HUL's parent is focussing on premium segments within beauty, well-being and personal care, with a push toward digitally native brands and greater e-commerce exposure, particularly in key markets such as the US and India. The company saw premium variant of its hair care brand TRESemmé been a "big success in India".
In December quarter, HUL's consolidated underlying sales and volume growth stood at 5 percent and 4 percent.
The company said it will focus on "fewer, bigger bets," specifically within high-growth segments like health and well-being, while also scaling aggressively through quick commerce, which now contributes 3 percent to its sales.
HUL reported a standalone net profit of Rs 7,075 crore for the December quarter, a 136 percent year-on-year increase from the year-ago period. Excluding exceptional items, profit after tax grew 1 percent at Rs 2,562 crore.
Net profit reported includes a one-time exceptional gain of Rs 4,516 crore, arising out of the discontinued operations following the demerger with its ice-cream business.
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