THE WHAT? Unilever has upgraded its full-year 2026 outlook after reporting strong first-half results, with volume-led growth across its Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care businesses supporting the company’s transformation strategy.
THE DETAILS Underlying sales grew 4.8% in the first half, accelerating to 5.8% in the second quarter, driven primarily by 4.2% volume growth. Beauty & Wellbeing delivered 5.9% underlying sales growth, led by double-digit growth from Dove, Sunsilk and Vaseline, alongside continued momentum in prestige brands including Paula’s Choice, Hourglass, Tatcha and K18. Personal Care increased 4.8%, supported by Dove’s premium innovations and deodorant growth, while Home Care rose 7.6%. Following the strong performance, Unilever raised its full-year sales growth outlook to the upper end of its 4–6% guidance range and reaffirmed its focus on portfolio transformation, including the planned separation of its Foods business with McCormick and continued investment in premium beauty, innovation and emerging markets.
THE WHY? The results demonstrate the resilience of global beauty and personal care demand despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. They also highlight how premiumisation, innovation, brand investment and emerging market expansion continue to drive growth for multinational consumer goods companies, while portfolio optimisation remains central to long-term value creation.
Source: Unilever
