Click 'Read Original' for details. Although food and beverages alone generate RMB 153.5 billion in annual sales, Unilever seems more inclined to bet on beauty and personal care. In a recent interview with the UK's Financial Times, Alan Jope, who has been CEO for over six months, hinted that the company's focus may shift further towards the higher-margin beauty and personal care business. "Looking ahead, we are likely to do more acquisitions and fewer divestitures in beauty and personal care. In food, we will acquire some brands, but not too many, and will continue to address brands with slowing growth," he said. After taking office, he stated that Unilever's growth target for 2019 is in the range of 3% to 4%, hoping to gradually adjust upward in the future. Numbers may better illustrate the point. Our review of data found that since 2015, the company has completed 29 acquisitions, mostly in personal care and home care brands, while most divestitures have been related to food and beverages, including the spreads business, soy drink Ades, and baking dessert brand Alsa. Trend of Unilever's revenue and business segment share from 2009 to 2018 The shift in acquisition focus is directly reflected in the change of business segment share. In terms of sales share from 2008 to 2018, Unilever's beauty and personal care business achieved the largest increase, almost on par with the former "group leader" food and beverage business. According to Unilever's 2018 financial report, the underlying operating margin of beauty and personal care has been rising and is the highest among all segments. The food and beverage segment's margin is not the lowest, but Unilever believes it needs improvement. Alan Jope's cautious attitude towards the food and beverage segment is even more evident in the face of the "plant-based meat" trend that is highly favored by the capital market. He said that the recovery of sales growth will not rely on chasing the craze for "plant-based meat" startups; Unilever will be more cautious in investing in food categories, especially when valuations are unreasonable. In fact, as early as last December, Unilever announced the acquisition of The Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch meat substitute company. Alan Jope described the acquisition as an "experimental attempt" because plant-based products are a major trend, and Unilever still hopes its existing core brands can offer vegetarian options to consumers. So, what kind of brands might be favored by Unilever's new leader? After all, this FMCG company currently has over 1,000 brands. We noticed that Alan Jope recently set two "rules" for brands when attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. First, brands must "walk the talk," meaning they must not only claim to contribute to society but also take real action; otherwise, it will further damage brand reputation and advertising credibility. He said that he has been in marketing for 35 years, and building brands with progressive social values is "the most exciting opportunity" he has encountered: if brands truly walk the talk, they can restore public trust, unleash brand creativity, and drive brand growth. However, he also criticized some brands for talking without doing, tarnishing the purpose itself, calling this practice "woke-washing." He said that brands without progressive social values will not thrive in Unilever. He even called on agencies to resist those brands that are inconsistent in words and deeds, and promised that Unilever will not use agencies that have engaged in "woke-washing." In addition, brands favored by the new leader must also have "good growth prospects." For example, the spreads business sold by Unilever does not fall into this category. "Selling this business was a major decision for us because it was one of the businesses the company was founded on. But we believe it does not have good long-term growth prospects, so we chose to exit. Buying and selling is one of our habits," Alan Jope said. To build a brand portfolio that meets these standards, Unilever may need to dispose of more brands in the future. "We will sell brands that cannot convey a more important meaning; it is no longer enough to just make hair shiny, skin soft, clothes whiter, or food tastier." Alan Jope emphasized that this is a gradual process. Currently, there is no indication that Unilever's new leader will take any action on its food and beverage business in China. In the 2018 financial report, the company stated that its food and beverage business recorded double-digit growth in India, China, and Turkey, reflecting the potential of emerging markets. Former Unilever CMO Keith Weed Unilever is looking for a new chief marketing officer to replace Keith Weed, who steps down this year, and the scope of this role has been confirmed to be redesigned. Alan Jope called the position "CMO++." "Although this role is still very core, it may be a bit different from before; we will cut about 20% of functions and add about 20% new ones. " He said. It is reported that the company has commissioned a specialized firm to search for a successor both internally and externally. Meanwhile, Alan Jope pointed out that he will not appoint a chief growth officer like Coca-Cola and Mars, because it does not fit his business needs. Source: 小食代 (ID: foodinc)