Meet Unilever, Our Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year
Boasting a staff of more than 125,000 and stocking brands in nearly 200 countries, Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.
In 2024, the Australian branch was recognised as Woolworths’ Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year. The award celebrated a partnership defined by innovation, deep customer understanding, and an unwavering commitment to collaboration. We sat down with Annabel Harris, Head of Grocery – Beauty & Personal Care at Unilever, and Molly Cameron, Customer Business Manager at Unilever, to explore what makes this partnership so successful.
A shared vision, rooted in customer understanding
Eleven years into her career at Unilever, Annabel has witnessed first-hand the evolution of the partnership with Woolworths, emphasising a deliberate move to align with the latter’s strategy. “We’ve actively sought to understand what’s important to Woolworths, what journey Woolworths is on, and what Woolworths believes over the next three to five years is going to be important in their categories,” said Annabel. This proactive approach means that at the very conception of a product or activation, both businesses are clear in their goals and connected in their vision.”
Molly added, “What is unique to Unilever is we have huge global scale and we can get data, products, insights from across the globe. This global perspective, combined with a local focus, allows Unilever to be thought leaders in their categories.”
Woolworths Merchandise Manager for Personal Care & Household Care, Richard Jones said, “Unilever were on our radar for Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year in 2024, due to their consistently strong sales growth, excelling within every category they contribute to.”
“What tipped the scale for us, was their partnership on best-in-market activations, their excellence in innovating new products, and how they captivated consumers. Unilever has been a reliable partner, and my team has complete trust that they have the customer at the heart of everything. From end-to-end, it’s a seamless experience to work together – and I think that comes down to shared goals,” said Richard.
Unilever’s deep understanding of the customer is multi-faceted, and in many ways, unique. Annabel described their comprehensive approach: “We have an enormous number of global and local insights; we do customer interviews. We even do shops with customers, where we just observe them as they shop… which is not as creepy as it sounds!”
Collaborative campaigns: From concept to cart
The strength of the Unilever-Woolworths partnership is evident in the campaigns they bring to life. The Lynx Fine Fragrance range served as a shining example of their collaborative potential, and success. Once presented with the initial scope of products, the Woolworths category team shared clear feedback, and was able to influence an additional fragrance, which has proven to be one of the best sellers to date. The impact of in-store execution and promotions, particularly for disruptive launches like Lynx Fine Fragrance, was crucial to the campaign’s success.
“The launch was disruptive enough to capture attention in new ways, but not disruptive of the shoppers in-store experience,” Molly explained, noting how promotions and clear messaging helped educate consumers about the new offering. “Execution is not only fun but it’s a really great way to create excitement, and delight a shopper when they come in,” added Annabel.
“Execution is not only fun, but it’s a really great way to create excitement”
Looking ahead
The past year has seen some of Unilever’s biggest launches in years, including OMO Wonder Wash (championed by Usain Bolt), Whole Body Deodorants (Martha Stewart), and Dove Advanced Body Wash. “To have all three launch at the same time demonstrates our commitment to innovation and working at pace. It has been incredibly exciting,” shared Annabel.
Beyond the products and campaigns, Molly emphasised the human element of this successful partnership. “Everyone is so passionate and driven to bring all of these things to life. It is such a good team. It’s very collaborative and we have robust discussion about how to best bring our products to Woolworths customers.”
The collaboration, passion, and shared commitment to the customer define the partnership between Unilever and Woolworths. As we celebrate Unilever as our Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year 2024, we look forward to more years of groundbreaking innovations and category-leading campaigns, all made possible by a trusted, true partnership.
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