Daily Tribune‘What we intend to do is to invest heavily in our core brands. We must make our products the best in the category, which is what we call brand superiority, delivering the best benefits to consumers’
Unilever Philippines head of communications and corporate affairs for the Philippines and Southeast Asia, Joseph Fabul (left) and Fredy Ong, Unilever Philippines chairman and CEO and head of customer development, discuss with the members of the media how the company will attain its growth targets for this year.
Photograph by RAFFY AYENG for the Daily Tribune
Fast-moving consumer goods multinational unit Unilever Philippines expects to rise more than the performance in terms of economic growth as the Philippines continues to be among the top 10 markets and a profit driver for Unilever globally.
“Consistent with what our global CEO said that we have to deliver high-quality growth, definitely Unilever Philippines is one of the countries that will deliver high growth globally. Our growth has always been above GDP, that’s what we can commit. Our goal is to continue to be one of the countries to contribute growth globally,” Fredy Ong, Unilever Philippines chairman and CEO, said during a media briefing on Monday.
The country’s 2023 GDP stood at 5.6 percent, missing the government’s target of 6 to 7 percent, lower than the 7.6 percent GDP in 2022.
In attaining the targets, Ong said they will continue to focus on core brands — which are Sunsilk, Cream Silk, Knorr, and Ice Cream (Selecta) among their other brands.
“What we intend to do is to invest heavily in our core brands. We must make our products the best in the category, which is what we call brand superiority, delivering the best benefits to consumers. We should also continue to innovate or make new products, and we want to pick those that are relevant to consumers. Lastly, improve our people to a premium portfolio,” he said.
Ong also emphasized that growing the business through market development allows the company to reinvest in its portfolio to improve, innovate, or bring in products that remain relevant for every Filipino.
The new strategy ensures that the company’s workforce is working towards growth through simplification and stretching goals.
Reframing global agenda
“We remain confident about our prospects for growth in the Philippines and we intend to grow fast and grow responsibly,” Ong added.
Aligned with its focus on sustainable growth, Unilever is also reframing its global sustainability agenda across the four pillars of climate, nature, plastics and livelihood.
Founded as the Philippine Refining Company in 1927, Unilever is considered one of the few FMCGs that continues to manufacture over 90 percent of its products locally.
The company’s investments in the expansion of its Nutrition factory in 2016 and a newly inaugurated Beauty and Wellbeing and Personal Care factory in 2023, both located in Cavite, contributed significantly to increased production capacity to support the growing demand in the Philippines and other export markets.
Unilever operates with strong category positions in Nutrition, Beauty and Wellbeing, Personal Care, Ice Cream and Home Care.
Ong said Unilever has made significant changes to position the company for growth, moving to an operating model organized around five empowered Business Groups, allowing a simpler, faster, and more agile organization with greater category focus and expertise.
“Through an extensive distributor network and strong retail partnerships, Unilever products are found in almost every Filipino household. It is estimated that over 15,000 jobs have been created, through forward and backward linkages, because of Unilever’s business presence in the country,” he said.
