Fast-moving consumer goods player HUL on Wednesday said it will invest ₹2,000 crore to enhance manufacturing capacity in fast-growing premium categories across beauty & wellbeing and home care segments.
The board of the company on Wednesday approved the proposed investment, according to a regulatory filing from HUL.
“This investment will be done over a period of two years across multiple locations,” said HUL, which owns popular brands such as Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Domex, Vim, Cif, and Comfort in the home care segment.
This proposed investment is in line with the company’s strategy of focusing on fewer, larger bets and strengthening its presence in high-growth demand spaces, including premium skin care, hair care, personal care and home care liquids.
The company will leverage advanced automation and digital technologies, said HUL, adding that the capacity expansion is expected to enhance supply-chain efficiency and agility.
This will also enable HUL, which operates with brands such as Dove, Lakmé, Pond’s, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Glow & Lovely, among others, in the beauty & wellbeing segments, to have a ‘faster response’ to evolving consumer needs.
“The initiative is aimed at building a future-ready manufacturing network that can effectively support emerging channels and high-growth formats,” said HUL.
CEO and Managing Director Priya Nair said this investment reflects HUL’s strategic focus on scaling our brands and creating categories of the future to meet evolving consumer needs.
“It also underscores our commitment to building a resilient, technology-enabled supply chain that delivers superior value to consumers,” she said.
HUL is the Indian subsidiary of the British multinational consumer goods company Unilever. Globally, India is the second-biggest market for Unilever after the US, contributing around 12-14 per cent of total sales.
Earlier this month, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández said that across geographies, the US and India are clear “anchor markets” for the FMCG major.
In the December quarter, HUL delivered a 5 per cent underlying sales growth (USG) led by 4 per cent underlying volume growth.
“Our focus remains on beauty and wellbeing, and personal care, with emphasis on premium segments, digitally native brands, and e-commerce exposure, particularly in the US and India,” he had said.
