Unilever 2012 Annual Report Download - page 18

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15
Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2012 Report of the Directors About Unilever
ABOUT UNILEVER GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Focusing innovation on fewer, bigger
projects in the future will allow R&D
breakthroughs to be translated into
many markets in a short timeframe.
For example, an innovative method
of ‘cool blending’ spreads is set to
transform our spreads brands (such as
Becel) by reducing total fat and saturated
fats by around 25%, which differentiates
their nutritional profile even more from
butter while still delivering great taste.
And this year we made great advances
among consumers in the perceived quality
of Lipton Yellow Label tea, by introducing
a new process of cold-pressing some
of the freshest tea leaves and adding
the essence back into conventional
dried leaves. Already launched through
a celebrity-backed campaign in Russia,
which saw retail sales grow by 26% in
12 months, this new technology will be
rolled out in another 18 countries in 2013.
Wnnng market share
Big, fast, ambitious projects can have
significant results, provided they are
attuned to consumer needs. When we
launched the TRESemmé brand into one
of the world’s largest hair markets, Brazil,
it became one of the leading hair brands
in both hypermarkets and drugstore chains
within five months. TRESemmé is available
in a number of other countries and also
includes a range of salon-quality dry
shampoos designed to rejuvenate hair
without a single drop of water – good for
the environment as well as helping grow
our business. Alongside TRESemmé’s rapid
launch, we introduced more than 80 new
or renewed products in Brazil, including
two new Dove variants and re-launches
of the Seda and Clear ranges, resulting
in substantial gains in a vital market.
Wn consumer preference
By making superior products with
benefits people appreciate, we
increasingly win consumer preference
for premium brands where added value
is greatest. Premiumisation, innovation
and differentiation will be essential if
we are to grow faster than our markets.
Superorty you can feel
The team behind every product in every
category of our business is set a clear
target for improvement: we want all our
brands to be superior to the competition.
At present, our global ‘Product
Benchmarking Programme’ shows
that 96% of our products in scope are
considered equal to, or better than, our
key competitors’. And where we have
made advances in product performance,
we are increasingly able to tell consumers
how they will benefit.
When we improved the Sunlight hand
dishwash brand, for instance, we had
thought carefully about the billions of
hours spent every day across the world
washing dishes, and the benefits that
could come from a dishwash that
degreases dishes faster and more
easily. We made sure our marketing
communicated these improvements, with
the result that we converted millions of
households to Sunlight, doubling turnover
for the dishwash brand in six years.
Qualty worth payng for
As well as driving volume growth,
superior products can command premium
prices, ensuring that growth is profitable.
All around the world, we are offering
products for which consumers are willing
to trade up, with a corresponding rise in
added value. In Russia, for example, we
launched the Carte d’Or ice cream range
in December 2011. The Carte d’Or products
were made to premium recipes and
marketed accordingly – creating additional
value per serving. In just over six months,
Carte d’Or sales grew profitably to represent
some 25% of the premium segment.
Some
25%
of premium segment in Russia achieved
by Carte d’Or in just over six months
from launch
IN 2012 WE WERE
MARKET LEADER
IN LIQUID LAUNDRY
DETERGENT SALES IN
EMERGING MARKETS,
WITH MARKET SHARE
OF OVER 25%
LAUNDRY LIQUIDS  BETTER FOR ONSUMERS,
USTOMERS, BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENT
In 2012 we were market leader in liquid laundry
detergent sales in emerging markets, increasing
our market share by over 10 percentage points
since 2010. Consumers are increasingly
convinced of the benefits of liquids like Omo
and Surf – which not only offer a better wash
experience but, especially when concentrated,
create lower greenhouse gas emissions in their
manufacture and distribution than powders.
And liquids are good for our business – great
performance combined with premium prices and
lower material and transport costs, especially
for concentrates, mean higher gross margins.
More at wwwunlevercom/omo