Unilever CEO Backs Bigger Marketing Budget...

Unilever beat analyst expectations with a 3.8% rise in sales during the second quarter of 2025. Despite the growth, the owner of Dove and Persil saw operating profit fall by 4.8% in the first half of the year.

Nevertheless, CEO Fernando Fernandez has increased the CPG’s marketing budget to build what he called a “marketing and sales machine.”

The Numbers

$34.45 billion – Revenue in the first half of 2025, up 3.4% in the first half, driven by its personal care and ice cream brands.

15.5% – The percentage of revenue (approximately $5.17  billion) Unilever spent on marketing in H1 2025, up 0.4% year over year.

$6.64 billion – Unilever’s operating profit for the first half of the year, down 4.8% year-on-year

Watercooler Talk

Unilever’s Q2 and first half results topped analyst expectations. Sales were up while profit declined (though slightly less than expected) amid rising costs and increased investment in marketing and brand building, as well as expenses tied to its upcoming ice cream business spin-off.

The U.K.-based company’s ice cream division, set to become The Magnum Ice Cream Company in November with Unilever retaining a 20% stake, was a bright spot in Q2, growing 5.9% year-on-year. Its personal care brands segment, which includes Dove and Axe, also performed well, with a 4.8% sales boost.

When Fernandez took on the CEO job in February, he heralded in a new “influencer-first” marketing strategy that allocates 30% to 50% of Unilever’s $9 billion annual ad budget in the creator space. It’s a blueprint that has so far resulted in creator-led campaigns for brands including TRESemmé.

Addressing investors on Thursday (July 31), Fernandez said the group had “increased brand and marketing investment behind key innovations and market developments.”

While financial results were mixed, Fernandez stated Unilever would not sacrifice increasing its marketing budget at the cost of small profit wins.

“The times of Unilever trading off lower, uncompetitive investment in our brands to deliver some more profit are gone. We will protect the investment behind our brands,” he said.

While U.S. rival P&G predicted a $1 billion hit in 2026 from President Trump’s tariffs during its earnings update earlier this week, Unilever’s acting CFO, Srinivas Phatak, said in the short-term, the impact of any levies was “well within [Unilever’s] margin guidance” for the second half of the year.