During the COVID-19 pandemic, when people are confined to their homes for months on end, they care less about smelling good. This may be why people are spending less time on their daily self-care routine, including using deodorant.
But now, deodorant is making a comeback — thanks to workers returning to the office again.
The trend emerged in Unilever’s third-quarter earnings on Thursday, with its personal care business growing 8%, with 3.9% growth driven by higher sales of deodorant. The maker of Rexona, Dove and Ax continues to build on the growth in deodorant usage seen over the past few seasons, which the group’s finance chief attributes to increased office attendance.
“When people are in lockdown or working from home and so on, people are not using deodorant as much. I think we are seeing some resurgence of that,” Unilever Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly told reporters on Thursday. said on a media conference call that he was referring to the impact of COVID-19 on deodorant use.
By comparison, sales at Unilever’s personal care unit, which also includes soaps and body wash, slowed 2020 and 2021 because Reduced demand and usage The pick-up began the following year as pandemic-related restrictions began to ease. Unilever’s deodorants will be the “key driver of underlying sales” in the segment through 2022, the company said in the report. annual report.
“If you move up to the level of our Personal Care business group, it’s delivering very good growth results, with a good balance between volume and price. One of the big drivers is strong growth in deodorant sales,” said Pete Casely said of Unilever’s third-quarter results.
New CEO faces tough times
Overall, the group behind Ben & Jerry’s and Marmite met its third-quarter sales growth forecast as higher prices offset production costs. Unilever appointed new chief executive Hein Schumacher in July, who said on Thursday the company’s performance “does not match our potential.”
“The quality of our growth, our productivity and our returns were not realized,” Schumaker said. in a statement.
“Today, we are developing an action plan to close this gap,” he added, pledging more investment in the consumer products giant’s “powerful brands.”
The company has been hurt by a variety of factors, including the failure of its Dollar Shave Club acquisition and the Price increased.Schumaker developed a company development plan that was supported by mixed reaction from investors.
Pandemic lifestyle means less grooming
People changed their lifestyles in many ways during the peak of the pandemic, when most people worked remotely and had little room for social interaction.
According to reports, these changes include less time bathing, putting on clean clothes and, in some cases, even brushing teeth. A 2022 study The study, published by WFH Research, was conducted by researchers from ITAM, Stanford University and the University of Chicago.
The study, which surveyed 4,000 U.S. adults, also found that people groomed themselves by putting on makeup or shaving significantly less when working from home than when working outside the home.
But workers have come a long way since then – and around the world, the push to return to work means many workers now spend at least part of their working week in office. Policies vary depending on the country, company and region where people work, but more people are going to work now than during the pandemic.
Data shows that consumers are starting to use personal care products more frequently and that inflation has become a factor in their decision-making. While it remains to be seen how different products may be affected by the price surge, for now, deos are winning.
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