Affordable products
People everywhere, whatever their income level, aspire to use high-quality and innovative products on occasions when looking good and feeling good are important.
Making our products more affordable
On any day around the world, two billion people use our products. People have different lifestyles, tastes, preferences and budgets. By providing high-quality, innovative brands that offer value for money, we aim to meet the different needs of consumers around the world.
Some groups suggest that people living on low incomes should not seek to buy global brands. We disagree. Our research and experience have shown us that poorer consumers are often the most discerning. When spending from a limited budget, they cannot afford to waste money on products they do not trust to be effective. The Unilever brand gives them the confidence to know that the product will deliver on its promise, so their money will be well spent.
Whether it is through new distribution channels, using smaller formats or creating new products, we are trying to develop business models to reach the poorest members of society. This makes business sense and enhances our ability to improve the lives of the poorest communities.
The developing & emerging market oppurtunity
Population (billions) in developing & emerging markets, based on Unilever's estimates of income at purchasing power parity exchange rates.
Small pack sizes
In several markets our best-known brands are available in small sachets, offering a small amount of shampoo or detergent at a low cost. This makes our quality brands attainable by people with low or irregular incomes.
In many countries, small sachets of shampoo or washing powder cost less than the equivalent of 10 US cents, and their sales can account for a significant proportion of turnover.
Examples of small pack sizes costing less than 10 US cents include:
Royco soups, Close Up toothpaste and OMO laundry powder in Africa
One-rupee sachets of Lux and Sunsilk shampoo in India
Our 30g pack of Pepsodent toothpaste in India – enough for a family of five to clean their teeth once a day for ten days – costs just six rupees (around €0.11).
As well as small pack sizes we are developing new products. During 2008 we launched a quality, low-cost toothbrush. Pepsodent Smart Clean is priced at just 10 rupees in India (equivalent to 16 euro cents) and 1 850 rupiahs in Indonesia (approximately 13 euro cents).
Replicating this approach across a broader range of brands is a much bigger task. And there are some trade-offs in trying to meet all our social, economic and environmental commitments. Making products available in small-pack sizes and single-dose sachets brings quality brands to some of the world's poorest consumers, but it also contributes to litter in markets where waste management infrastructure cannot always provide facilities for reuse and recycling. We are working with stakeholders on how best to solve this dilemma without affecting the affordability and accessibility of our products.
Pureit
Our Pureit in-home water purifier provides affordable and safe drinking water for families in India as it is cheaper than boiling water or buying bottled water. Pureit provides water that is 'as safe as boiled' without needing electricity or pressurised tap water. One rupee buys 2.8 litres of Pureit safe drinking water (including the initial one-off costs of the purifier unit). This makes it a more affordable alternative to boiling water or bottled water, where one rupee buys 2.1 litres or just 0.3 litres respectively.
During 2008, the product became available in 23 states in India. In 2009 we expanded sales to all 28 states, extending safe drinking water from five million people in 2008 to more than 15 million people in three million households.
In 2009 Pureit received external recognition in the UK government-backed innovation awards (the 'iawards'), winning the consumer product category for an innovation which supports society and positively impacts the lives of consumers.
Responding to local circumstances
We also seek to tailor our brands to meet the specific and varying needs of our consumers. Tea, for example, is drunk in different styles around the world and we offer varieties to suit local tastes and customs.
Everyone needs to wash, but they do it in various ways. Much depends on the availability and cost of water, as well as the affordability of soap. In Iceland, 70% of people use a bath; in Israel, 82% use a shower; in Iran, two-thirds use a shower too, but another third use a mug; in Cambodia, half use a klong jar (a water container), and the rest use the river; and in Ethiopia, 69% use a bucket.
We need to be sensitive to such local conditions when designing our soap bars or shower gels. We use our global knowledge and experience to address local issues, and deliver local solutions at an affordable price.
