Unilever to bet big on India despite slowing demand: Report

The company’s recent acquisition of Minimalist in January 2025 reflects this strategic push into the beauty category.

Unilever plans to ramp up its investments in Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), its Indian subsidiary, despite sluggish consumption trends, CNBC-TV18 has reported. India remains the consumer goods giant’s second-largest market and the management is committed to long-term growth in the region.

Under its “Focus” strategy, Unilever aims to strengthen key markets, including India, and accelerate its beauty and wellbeing segment.

“...we would double down in India as one of our key markets that we would look to accelerate our beauty & wellbeing business,” CEO Hein Schumacher told analysts in a conference call. The company’s acquisition of Minimalist in January reflects this strategic push into the beauty category.

Despite headwinds from rising inflation and muted wage growth, Unilever remains optimistic about a recovery in demand following fiscal and monetary stimulus measures, the report said. HUL, which contributes over 10 percent to Unilever’s global revenue, has seen its stock decline by 2.8 percent over the past year, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending.

Unilever’s fourth-quarter sales grew 4 percent, missing expectations and leading to a nearly 6 percent drop in its share price on the London Stock Exchange on February 13. The company’s bottom line, however, received a €400 million boost from a tax refund in India.

Unilever’s India business grew 1.8 percent in the quarter, with underlying volume growth of 2.4 percent and mid-single-digit growth in tonnage volume. Strong performance in the home care segment helped offset weakness in other categories.

Beyond India, Unilever is also prioritising investments in China and Indonesia. While sales in China declined across most categories except food, the company is focusing on premiumization to drive growth in high-end segments, CFO Fernando Fernandez said. Unilever’s business in Indonesia contracted by 8.7 percent in the October-December 2024 quarter, the report said.