We mined Unilever's acquisitions, investments, and partnerships to discern the company's strategic priorities.
UK-based Unilever is a prominent CPG industry leader with over $52B in sales in 2021 and products used by almost half of the world’s population every day.
While much of the company’s investments remain focused on building out its portfolio with more sustainable, health-focused products, Unilever’s activity also supports a shift towards new digital channels and sustainable operations.
These moves align with its strategic goals to:
- Operate with zero emissions by 2030
- Use packaging that is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025
- Have all ingredients be biodegradable by 2030
- Grow its omnichannel and digital channels
From D2C businesses to influencer & marketing tech, Unilever is investing across its value chain, which will create a closer relationship with consumers going forward. The company will be able to collect more data from its consumers directly rather than through retail channels. This could help inform new product creation and enhance Unilever’s marketing and personalization efforts.
Using CB Insights data, we uncovered the 6 most prominent strategic priorities highlighted by Unilever’s recent acquisitions, investments, and partnerships since June 2019. We then categorized companies by their business relationships with Unilever across these priorities.
- Alternative & biotech ingredients
- Digital health
- Direct-to-consumer businesses
- Influencer & marketing tech
- On-demand delivery & services
- Sustainable packaging
