The document is a project paper that explores brand building and sustainable development strategies employed by Unilever, particularly in Bangladesh. It reflects a comprehensive study based on a marketing internship program, highlighting Unilever's global impact, product offerings, and customer engagement strategies while offering recommendations for enhancing brand visibility and sustainability initiatives. The findings emphasize Unilever's role as a major player in the FMCG sector and the importance of sustainability in brand management.

1. Project Paper
On
Brand Building & Sustainable Development of Unilever
(Based on the study of marketing internship program)

2. Project Paper
On
Brand Building & Sustainable Development of Unilever
(Based on the study of marketing internship program)
Prepared for:
Syed Abul Kalam Azad
Professor
Department of Marketing
Faculty of Business of Studies
University of Dhaka
Prepared by:
Md. Abdur Rakib
Roll No: 041
Section: A
Department of Marketing (14th)
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka
Date of Submission: 22th March, 2012 eng.
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3. Letter of Transmittal:
22th March, 2012
Syed Abul Kalam Azad
Professor
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka
Dear Sir,
Here is the project paper on the chosen topic of “Brand Building & Sustainable Development
of Unilever” (based on the study of marketing internship program) that you permitted me to
conduct on the basis of the submitted proposal paper.
The study of learning various marketing theories, approaches, strategies and methods for a
product or service helped me know about a lot of information. I have come to know various
points of brand building factors, objectives, analysis and various sustainability related topics
that would help me further in my study.
I appreciate your approval & assistance regarding my project topic & procedure. If you need
any additional research or assistance in the overview of my project paper regarding the
approved topic, please ask me.
Sincerely Yours,
Md. Abdur Rakib
Roll No: 041
Section: A
Department of Marketing (14th)
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka
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4. Acknowledgement:
At first, I would like to show my sincere gratitude to Syed Abul Kalam Azad, Professor,
Department of Marketing, University of Dhaka & my academic internship program
supervisor for his well supervision and guidance. It has been a great support for me to have
him as my supervisor. I am also thankful to him as he consulted with me gently and answered
any of my queries with utmost patience and perseverance.
I am thankful to Mr. Tanzeen Ferdous, Senior Brand Manager, Brands & Development,
Unilever Bangladesh Limited, for helping me with such an important project and allowing me
to know about UBL & its activities and also providing valuable information for my project.
I am also grateful to a few of my classmates named Chowdhury Omor Faruque, Khandakar
Istiak Ikram & Shajahan Sarkar who supported me well with their guidelines and
information.
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5. Table of Contents:
List of Contents:
No. Particulars Page No.
Executive Summary v
1 Introduction 1-4
2 Background 1
3 Origin 1
4 Objective 2
5 Scope 3
6 Methodology 3
7 Limitations 3
8 Overview of Unilever & Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. 5-6
9 Unilever Global 5
10 Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. 6
11 Brand Building of Unilever & UBL 7-28
12 Brand 7
13 Unilever Logo 7
14 Unilever Icons 8
15 Brand Building Tools 12
16 UBL‟s Trade Structure 25
17 Marketing Strengths of Strong Brands like UBL 25
18 CBBE (Customer Based Brand Equity) of UBL 26
19 Sustainable Development 29-39
20 Sustainability or Sustainable Marketing 29
21 Sustainable Development Program of Unilever 30
22 Unilever Sustainable Living Plan 32
23 Inspiring Sustainable Living: Experts insights into consumer 33
behavior & Unilever‟s 5 Levers for Change
24 Recent Sustainable Actions by Unilever 35
25 UBL Sustainability Approach 36
26 Recent Sustainable Actions by UBL 39
27 Sustainable Development as a Brand Building Factor 40-44
28 Business Model 41
29 Report of the Directors about Unilever 42
30 Brands Delivering Sustainable Growth 44
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6. 31 Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion 45-47
32 Major Findings 45
33 Recommendations 46
34 Conclusion 46
35 References 47
List of Figures & Graphs:
No. Particulars Page No.
1 Unilever Logo 8
2 Brand Building Tools 12
3 Unilever Brands 16
4 Sustainable Marketing Concept 29
5 The Environmental Sustainability Portfolio 30
6 Three Main Targets of Unilever 31
7 Unilever Sustainable Living Plan 32
8 5 Levers for Change 34
9 Doubling Company by Reducing Environmental Impact 40
10 Business Model 41
List of Tables:
No. Particulars Page No.
1 Brand Mantra 27
2 Report of Directors 43
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7. Executive Summary:
Unilever works both on domestic & international bases & has a great impact on the global
economy. It is the world‟s 3rd largest consumer goods company on the basis of revenue. It is a
British FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company) that manufactures personal care,
home care, beverage and food items for the consumers. Followings are some
recommendations:
 The sustainable development factors and issues like CSR are given too much priority to
leverage the brand.
 Unilever‟s U has been a great strength for its individual brands.
 Home care and food products brands are very few in numbers.
 Unilever has contributed a lot on sustainability issues than any other FMCG
manufacturers.
 The share prices and the turnover have increased over the past few years in significant
figures.
 There are no R&D centers in BD.
 Sustainable development program has not been taken effectively in BD as taken globally.
 5 levers of changing behavior and sustainable living plan are not familiar to the people.
 The corporate culture and CSR has been a great success for them.
 As a customer I have found I including my family are purchasing and consuming about
40% of our weekly purchases.
Although UBL has been successful they must look over the following matters very carefully:
 Unilever should work on their visibility and relevance to their offer.
 The must look even for closer to make the customer feel like buying not only the physical
product but also a trust with it.
 By joining “Poribesh Bandhob” (a social community) UBL can reduce its environmental
impact as well as create awareness among people in a large scale.
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8.  Create new sustainable agricultural sources from Bangladesh.
 Creating awareness regarding saving the utilities (water & electricity) and reducing the
waste.
 Introduce more brands in Bangladesh.
 Making people aware of the environmental impacts caused by the consumption process &
inform how they can help it by taking Unilever products and behaving in a sustainable
way.
 Packaging of a few brands must be changed to lift up its vitality & position UBL brands.
Branding strategies, Sustainability and a lot about UBL has been the important discussion.
Besides, there is relative impact of sustainability on the brand building of Unilever. There is a
huge impact of Unilever on the globe as well as on Bangladesh. As 1 billion people use its
products daily it is obvious that their brand building & its key factors are well organized and
effective in a country like BD having a consumer groups with reasonable price and less
concerned with brand performance and its core values. To sustain their growth and gain
success in the new markets & cope with the upcoming futures, the above findings and
recommendations will be a significant concern to them
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9. Introduction
Background:
To learn the activities, emphasis, concepts & applications of marketing in the real world large
organizations & different industries must be studied & reviewed closely. An MNC like
Unilever works both on domestic & international bases & has a great impact on the global
economy. It is the world‟s 3rd largest consumer goods company on the basis of revenue. It is a
British FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company) that manufactures personal care,
home care, beverage and food items for the consumers. However, strong brand building
factors, branding strategies, behavioral patterns of consumers, logistics management, CSR
activities, sustainable development issues, stakeholders‟ concern etc. can be learned from the
Unilever, its products & its consumption. In the study of the project paper the brand building
& sustainable development are given the core focus. It will be studied how good Unilever &
UBL (Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.) are in building their brands, what strategies are taken and
how successfully they are done. Besides, a new strategy of Marketing Concepts to sustain in
the competition as well as to live in the planet earth is the sustainable living plan. It is a new
way of doing business which will increase the social benefits from Unilever‟s activities while
at the same time reducing its environmental impacts and thus growing the company, creating
jobs and income for all those livelihoods that are linked to its success.
Origin:
As a part of BBA program internship report or project paper is to be submitted by each &
every students of Faculty of Business Studies (DU). Such report is helpful for the students to
gain practical knowledge, experience, and adaptation with the situation. This will help not
only to learn about making a report but also to understand its idea, purpose and use in an
organization. I have decided to study on a project & submit project paper. I have given a
project proposal to my supervisor in this regard & it has been accepted. The topic of my
project paper is based on the concept & study of marketing. It is “Brand Building &
Sustainable Development of Unilever in Bangladesh”.
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10. Objective:
General Objective:
The main objective of this report is to know about and analyze the brand building and
sustainable development program and activities of Unilever & UBL (Unilever Bangladesh
Limited). How they are building their brands among the customers, suppliers, and
distributors; how the society & the environment are being benefited and Unilever is gaining
from it. And how Unilever is making our living sustainable by providing us sustainable
product to consume & live happily.
Specific Objective:
 To Learn about of Unilever & UBL.
 Knowing about their brands around the world & in our country.
 How to build a brand position in the Market.
 Making promotions to build the brands.
 How to make the consumers happy.
 How to work together in the value chain process.
 How to gain more market share.
 How good UBL as a brand influencing our country markets.
 To know about sustainable living.
 Knowing about sustainable development program of Unilever.
 How they utilize their sustainable development program as a new marketing concept.
 To learn about the environmental impacts and they way to sustain in the planet earth.
 Learning the marketing strategies used by an organization.
 Knowing about MNC.
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11. Scope:
This project paper covers not only the domestic but also the global impacts of Unilever. It
also includes the aspects of value chain process as they are relevant to the topic of the project.
While preparing the report I have experienced & gained knowledge about Unilever, UBL,
MNCs, marketing concepts etc. Besides this, strategies, products, brands, promotional tools
of Unilever & UBL is also learnt.
Methodology:
To make the report more meaningful and presentable, two sources of data and information
will be used. Both primary and secondary data sources have been used. I have used both
direct interview & observation method to collect the data. By using this interview method I
can get specific information by asking specific information to the officials of the company,
employees and customers. Observation is another method for collecting information.
Observation means the recording of behavioral patterns of people, objects, and events in a
systematic manner to obtain information about the phenomenon of interest. I have taken both
qualitative and quantitative data using these 2 methods. Thus, I have collected my requisite
information and then used & analyzed systematically. However, the project paper will be
discussed in some basic parts. Each of them will be illustrated in different points and
subpoints.
Limitations:
However, there are a few limitations. These are given as the following:
 The main limitation of the study is to access to information which hampered to study
some different aspects and analysis.
 Some of the information is not suitable to classify or to use.
 There is also a time limitation of conducting the research and prepare the project paper.
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12.  As Unilever is a private limited company it maintains some secrecy that is not revealed to
others. While collecting data they did not disclose much information for the sake of the
confidentiality of the organization.
 It is a little difficult to collect data from the Unilever officials, the distributors and the
consumers. Besides some of them do not provide relevant information as required.
 The sample size is very less to be count in proportion to the population size.
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13. Overview of Unilever & Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.
Unilever Global:
Unilever is a British–Dutch multinational fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company.
Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It is the
world's third-largest consumer goods company measured by revenues (after Procter &
Gamble and Nestlé) and the world's largest maker of ice cream. As of December 2011, it was
the 18th largest company on the FTSE, with a market capitalization of £27.3 billion.
Unilever was founded on 1 January 1930 by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den
Bergh and William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme. The amalgamation of the
operations of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine
Unie (a 1927 amalgamation of Anton Jurgens Margarinefabrieken N.V. and Samuel van den
Bergh) made sound commercial sense, as palm oil was a major raw material for both
margarines and soaps, and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities.
The current Unilever logo was introduced in 2004 and was designed by the brand consultancy
Wolff Olins. It is composed of 26 icons woven together to create a U shape, with each icon
representing one of the company's sub-brands or its corporate values. The brand identity was
developed around the idea of "adding vitality to life.
Unilever owns more than 400 brands, although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of
total sales. Unilever focuses resources on 13 "billion-Euro brands", each of which has annual
sales in excess of €1 billion. Unilever organizes its brands into two main categories: Food and
Beverages, and Home and Personal Care.
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14. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. (UBL):
Over the the last four decades, Unilever Bangladesh has been constantly bringing new and
world-class products for the Bangladeshi people to remove the daily drudgery of life. Over
90% of the country‟s households use one or more of our products.
 Type of business: FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) company with local
manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and
business results.
 Operations: Home and Personal Care, Beverages, Foods products etc. in Bangladesh.
 Constitution: Unilever - 60.75% shares, Government of Bangladesh - 39.25% share.
 Product categories: Household Care, Fabric Cleaning, Skin Cleansing, Skin Care, Oral
Care, Hair Care, Personal Grooming & Tea based Beverages.
 Brands in Bangladesh: Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Close Up,
Sunsilk, Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Axe, Dove, & Vaseline.
 Manufacturing facilities: It has a Soap Manufacturing factory and a Personal Products
Factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a tea packaging operation in
Chittagong and three manufacturing units in Dhaka, which are owned and run by third
parties exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh.
 Employees: Unilever Operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10,000
people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and service
providers. 99.5% of UBL employees are locals and we have equal number of
Bangladeshis working abroad in other Unilever companies as expatriates.
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15. Brand Building of Unilever & UBL
Brand:
 Brand emerges from old norse (Scandinavian language) word brandr that means to
burn.
 A name, a term, a symbol, a logo (more modern), etc. to identify products of a
manufacturer is a brand.
 According to AMA “It is to able to choose a name, logo, symbol, package design or
other attribute that identifies a product and distinguishes it from others.”
 According to Kevin Lane Keller “A brand is therefore a product, but one that adds
other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products designed to
satisfy the same need.”
 Understanding consumer motivations and desires and creating relevant and appealing
images surrounding the products makes a brand leader.
Unilever Logo:
We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that
are good for them and good for others. Our identity expresses Unilever's core values, with
each icon representing an aspect of the business.
Obviously the big blue „U‟ of our logo stands for Unilever. But look a little closer and you‟ll
see there‟s much more to it.
Our logo was designed to include 24 icons, each of which represents something important to
Unilever.
From a lock of hair symbolizing our shampoo brands to a spoon, an ice cream, a jar, a tea
leaf, a hand and much more, the little icons all have a meaning.
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16. The current Unilever logo was introduced in 2004 and was designed by the brand consultancy
Wolff Olins. It is composed of 26 icons woven together to create a U shape, with each icon
representing one of the company's sub-brands or its corporate values. The brand identity was
developed around the idea of "adding vitality to life
Figure: 1 Unilever Logo
Unilever Icons:
The icons that come together to shape the Unilever logo each signify something about our
business. Find out what they mean.
Sun: Our primary natural resource, the sun evokes Unilever's origins in Port
Sunlight and can represent a number of our brands. Flora, Slim Fast and Omo all use radiance
to communicate their benefits.
Hand: A symbol of sensitivity, care and need. It represents both skin and touch.
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17. Flower: Represents fragrance. When seen with the hand, it represents
moisturizers or cream.
Bee: Represents creation, pollination, hard work and bio-diversity. Bees
symbolize both environmental challenges and opportunities.
DNA: The double helix, the genetic blueprint of life and a symbol of bio-
science. It is the key to a healthy life. The sun is the biggest ingredient of life, and DNA the
smallest.
Hair: A symbol of beauty and looking good. Placed next to the flower it evokes
cleanliness and fragrance; placed near the hand it suggests softness.
Palm tree: A nurtured resource. It produces palm oil as well as many fruits –
coconuts and dates – and also symbolizes paradise.
Sauces or spreads: Represents mixing or stirring. It suggests blending in flavors
and adding taste.
Bowl: A bowl of delicious-smelling food. It can also represent a ready meal, hot
drink or soup.
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18. Spoon: A symbol of nutrition, tasting and cooking.
Spice & flavors: Represents chilli or fresh ingredients.
Fish: Represents food, sea or fresh water.
Sparkle: Clean, healthy and sparkling with energy.
Bird: A symbol of freedom. It suggests a relief from daily chores, and getting
more out of life.
Tea: A plant or an extract of a plant, such as tea. It is also a symbol of growing
and farming.
Lips: Represent beauty, looking good and taste.
Ice cream: A treat, pleasure and enjoyment.
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19. Recycle: Part of our commitment to sustainability.
Particles: A reference to science bubbles and fizz.
Frozen: The plant is a symbol of freshness; the snowflake represents freezing &
a transformational symbol.
Container: Symbolizes packaging - a pot of cream associated with personal
care.
Heart: A symbol of love, care and health.
Clothes: Represent fresh laundry and looking good.
Wave: Symbolizes cleanliness, freshness and vigor.
Liquid: A reference to clean water and purity.
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20. Brand Building Tools:
To build a brand each & every organizations have some common tools used. These are the
brand building tools that UBL are also using as their brand building strategy. These are:
R&D
Price Product
CRM Service
Packaging Promotion
Merchandising Advertising
Figure: 2 Brand Building Tools
R & D:
Brands and innovation are at the heart of everything Unilever & UBL do. In Unilever,
research and development (R&D) is the home of breakthrough technology for bigger, better,
faster innovations. Success for them means creating products that keep pace with changes in
consumer lifestyles and that appeal to people at all income levels.
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21.  Unilever‟s R&D centers located around the world help it to respond fast to changing
needs, tastes and trends.
 €1 billion invested in R&D worldwide in 2011.
 More than 6,000 scientists, engineers, chefs and technicians work in Unilever's R&D
centers around the globe - inventing new products and improving existing products to
delight consumers everywhere.
 Ground breaking research is the foundation on which Unilever's R&D programme is
built.
 The very best science and technology from academia and specialist collaborators are
taken and applied it to create breakthrough innovations for the next generation of
products.
 Unilever is studying the relationship between genes and ageing to develop technologies
that when translated into products – will help people remain healthy in their mid and later
years.
 Unilever is applying a radical new technology that reproduces nature‟s way of coping
with cold to deliver truly original ice cream products.
 Their R&D leadership: Professor Geneviève Berger, Chief Research & Development
Officer and Vindi Banga, President Foods, Home & Personal Care outline how our R&D
teams create unique products with proven benefits for consumers around the world.
 Overview of research & development in Unilever: The R&D function at Unilever
employs over 6,000 professionals located in 20 countries spanning the globe from Mexico
to Australia.
 Expertise in Unilever: The journey from idea to branded product is only achieved with the
collective expertise of our R&D professionals.
 The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (launched in 2010) is the company's roadmap on
how it will achieve a doubling of the business while halving the environmental footprint
of its products.
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22.  The Central Research Ethics Advisory Group (CREAG) advises the company on the
ethics of involving human subjects in research studies. Its aim is to ensure that this
remains an intrinsic part of Unilever‟s R&D culture, and that Unilever operates to the
highest ethical standards in this area.
Innovation:
 “Sunsilk Co-creations” created by 7 best hair experts in the worlds is a great example.
 At Cannes Lions advertising festival AXE won for the last 5 years for its innovative ads
and ideas.
 Dove brought new hair fall therapy for the shampoo segments. Dove also introduced itself
as bigger, better & faster.
 Wheel Power White which is now Rin Power White innovated its new more powerful
washing powder.
 Fair & Lovely Menz Active is the 1st ever introduced solution for the men.
 Pure It:
Pure It's performance has been verified and endorsed by the Sundaram Medical
Foundation, the Indian Public Health Association and the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine. It meets the strict criteria of the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). It has also received numerous design and technology awards. But the highest
accolade for this collaborative project has been its success – among people for whom
access to clean water is a matter of life and death.
Water is synonymous to life, but only when it is safe for consumption. Approximately
25% of the disease burden in Bangladesh is water borne. Drinking unsafe water can cause
such fatal waterborne diseases as diarrhoea, cholera, jaundice and typhoid.
With a mission to bring safe drinking water to millions of Bangladeshi consumers,
Unilever has introduced its unique water purifier Pureit.
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23. Pureit is a revolutionary water purifier and the
first of its kind. It directly purifies tap water and
provides "as safe as boiled water without the
hassles of boiling". It runs without gas or
electricity and hence helps save valuable natural
resources. Made with high quality plastic, Pureit‟s
Classic model has a maximum capacity of 18
litres.
Pureit's Germkill Process removes all kinds of
dirt, germs and parasites through a unique 4 step purification system. Pureit follows the
strict guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency, USA, on water safety
 The clever combination behind Close Up Fire-Freeze toothpaste. The heat of aromatic
spices meets the most advanced cooling agents in the innovative formula for our most
unusual toothpaste.
 Unique Rexona for Women with Motionsense technology delivers bursts of fragrance as
your body moves throughout the day ensuring unbeatable protection.
Product:
There are 3 main categories of Unilever & UBL products. Some of the brands within these
categories are Sunsilk Wheel Lemon Power Pepsodent Dove Close up Fair and Lovely
Rexona Pond's Vaseline Wheel Power White Clear Axe Knorr Lux Vim Pureit Surf Excel
Taaza Lifebuoy. Each of the brands operate with different features, identities, goals that build
the brand individually strong as well as the Unilever.
There are 3 main categories of Unilever & UBL products are:
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24. Unilever
Brands
Personal Care Home Care
Food Brands
Brands Brands
Figure: 3 Unilever Brands
Home Care Products:
In Bangladesh, we lead the home care market with brands such as Surf Excel , Wheel and
Vim. It's more than just hygiene – with homes and clothes that are clean and cared for.
Used by more than 94% households, Wheel has been a trusted laundry partner
of housewives in Bangladesh for over 40 years. Wheel Lemon Powder, Wheel Lemon & Bar
Soap are found.
When it is a question of shining with striking white clothes, no one knows it
better then Wheel Power White. Wheel Power White is found only.
Vim has brought a revolution in kitchen management in Bangladeshi
households. Since its launch in 1987, Vim has been synonymous with sparkling clean dishes.
Vim bar, Vim liquid & Vim powder are found.
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25. Washing and caring for your clothes is a constant challenge. Luckily, Surf excel
is always up to the job. Surf excel powder is found only.
Pureit is a revolutionary water purifier and the first of its kind. It directly
purifies tap water and provides "as safe as boiled water without the hassles of boiling"
Personal Care Products:
Our personal care brands, including Axe, Dove, Lux, Pond's, Rexona and Sunsilk, are
recognized and respected around the world. They help consumers to look good and feel good
– and in turn get more out of life.
Pond's delivers products that make a real difference to women's skin and the
way they live their lives. Ponds Cleansers, Ponds Oils, age Miracle Range, Flawless White
range, White beauty range, Facewash range, Perfect result, Body Lotion, Talcum Powder,
Pond's Moisturizing Cold Cream, Pond's Vanishing Cream are found.
Fair & Lovely understands that different people have different fairness needs
based on age or skin type and therefore offers expert fairness solutions relevant to different
consumer needs.
Multivitamin beauty treatment Ayurvedic Care, Winter Fairness, Anti-marks, MAX Fairness
& Body Fairness Milk are found.
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26. Pepsodent is the fastest growing oral brand in Bangladesh with a wide range
of choice for its consumers. Pepsodent toothpowder, Pepsodent herbal, Pepsodent
germicheck, Pepsodent whitening and a few types of toothbrushes are found.
“The closer, the better” Our mouths are our gateway to life. We use them to eat,
drink, talk, laugh, smile and what not! Close up helps people like you to live life confidently
and brings you the taste of success. Peppermint, Menthol & Red tubes are found.
After years of experiments and clinical studies, Unilever Hair care experts
have developed a new all-round solution for treating Dandruff. Clear men & other varieties
are found.
With its coolly seductive fragrances and packaging, the brand has established
itself as the world's top male grooming brand by coming up with a constant stream of new
ideas to keep guys a step ahead in the mating game. Each year, for example, we launch a new
deodorant fragrance. Almost all the fragrances are found.
Sunsilk provides real solutions to women's everyday hair needs everywhere.
Sunsilk shampoo & conditioner are found only.
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27. In a world of hype and stereotypes, Dove provides a refreshingly real
alternative for women who recognize that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Dove Body
wash, hair care, soap, body lotions, tools etc. are found in BD.
Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and health
solutions that enable people to lead a life without fear of hygiene anxieties and health
consequences. Lifebuoy hand wash & Lifebuoy bar soap are found here.
Lux provides prestige-inspired beauty products made accessible to all which
indulge the senses to make your skin and hair smell, look and feel more alluring and
attractive, and inspire you to revel in the pleasure of expressing your beauty. Lux bar soap,
Shampoo & Shower gel are available.
Rexona gives you the confidence to handle whatever the day has in store
because you know your deodorant won't let you down. Rexona skin friendly & Rexona low
income consumer affordable. It has only the 24 hrs protection and odor spray brands
available in BD.
At any age, at any time, no matter what your skin need, the Vaseline skin care
team wants everybody to be able to enjoy great, healthy skin everyday. Vaseline petroleum
jelly & Vaseline body lotion range are found here.
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28. Foods Brands:
Unilever is one of the world's leading food companies. Our passion for understanding what
people want and need from their food - and what they love about it - makes our brands a
popular choice.
At Knorr, Unilever want people to enjoy good food, any day, any time. In
Bangladesh, only Knorr Soup of 4 flavors is available.
Lipton is one of the world's great refreshment brands, making a big splash in
the global beverages market with tea-based drinks including leaf tea, infusions, ready-to-
drink tea and other healthy, refreshing alternatives to soft drinks. Only Lipton & Brooke
Bond tea is available.
Service:
Besides providing various types of products there are various services that are provided by
the UBL. These are nutrition, health, hygiene and beauty.
Nutrition: Policies and guidelines are created to ensure for acting responsibly when it
comes to health and nutrition.
1. Acting responsibly: Many people in Bangladesh enjoy the foods and drinks we create.
So the ingredients used, the formulations, and the way advertised and marketed the
brands can potentially make a big impact on global health.
2. Clear communication: They've also developed a set of marketing principles to ensure
we're always 'honest, decent and truthful' in our communication – which include
special principles on advertising to children.
3. Nutritional Fun: Here are some fun ways to find out more about nutrition. With small
changes to your eating habits you can easily lead a healthier lifestyle
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29.  Are you a healthy weight?
 Exercise anywhere - there's no excuse
 Find out more about energy
 Find out more about fats
 Find out more about fruit & vegetables
 Find out more about sugar
 Is your waist out of control?
Health, hygiene & beauty: Unilever aims to help people feel good, look good and get
more out of life. At the heart of this mission is hygiene - and health through hygiene.
 At the heart of vision: The desire to be clean, active, energetic and healthy is common
to everyone.
 One of the main stumbling blocks is that most people do not use one of the world's
most basic and widely available home hygiene products – the humble bar of soap.
Lifebuoy exemplifies their commitment to champion health through hygiene for
everyone.
 Healthy Living: Living a healthy lifestyle is everyone's dream. But making it a reality
is easier said than done.
 Brushing up on oral hygiene, conquer your fear of the dentist, hair raising, hand
washing and health, rescue remedies for our skin etc.
 Beauty & style: There's nothing better than looking in the mirror and feeling good
about oneself. It gives you the confidence to meet life's challenges head on. Our
personal care range is here to make you feel that way all day, every day.
 Care for clothes, clothes care tips, hand washing tips, cooking & eating etc. are
provided.
 Their tea brand is committed to helping quench your thirst. The brand exists to add
vitality to your life.
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30. Promotion:
Discounts, Contest, Allowance, Free, “Clear Dandruff Solutions in Public” according to their
varieties to find out proper segments. Stock clearance sale etc.
Advertising:
Great brands have great advertising. We are proud of the work our brand teams and agencies
have created so have included a selection here for you to view. Come back soon as we will be
adding more over time.
Media: TV, Newspaper, Magazine, Radio, bill board etc. are the most popular and effective
in Bangladesh & so are used by UBL very well.
AXE (Cannes Lions advertising festival won for the last 5 years) has also introduced its good
advertising campaign as done across the world.
Wheel Power White which is now Rin Power White which has strongly being an effective
promotion to show its vitality.
Packaging:
 Attractive: AXE, Fair & Lovely, Close Up, Ponds, Lux etc.
 Various Sized Package: Wheel Powder; Surf Excel; Vim Powder; Shampoo from
Dove, Sunsilk & Clear etc.
 Colorful: AXE, Lux, Ponds, Surf Excel etc. are really very colorful.
 Safety: AXE, Clear, Dove, Ponds, Vaseline etc. product brands are packaged with
safety to use them for a long time to last.
 Recyclable: Some of the packages are encouraged for recycling. For example,
Lifebuoy hand wash is sold in plastic container. Besides, it is also found in recyclable
package not only for reducing the price but also for using recyclable package.
 Product Info: Details of products ingredients, instructions for use, instructions for
preserving, warning, testified marks, labels, manufacturing location, contact info,
manufacturing & expire date etc. are provided for useful packaging as well as
promoting the brand image.
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31. Merchandising:
It is another important tool of brand building. A few activities and issues must be reviewed as
the following:
 Channel segmentation: To focus on different SKU‟s as per channel in shape.
 Distribution Correction: ensuring all the strategic SKU‟s are available in the outlets.
 Excellent merchandising: “Campaign branding” and „rural haat” branding helps in
synchronizing with brand communication.
 Contract Merchandisers: Channel of Distributions team has a Contract Merchandisers
those who actually help to the retailers for assortment, visibility and systematic way
of displaying the products according to brands objectives.
 Innovative display programs / schemes: Channel of Distributions team gives different
types of innovative display programs or schemes to get in line with brand‟s objective,
to help in more stocking and better off-take of the brands which ultimately helps in
market share gain. Like-Vim display gained share from Trix.
CRM:
The Customer Development team is responsible for the overall sales and distribution of our
brands across the country. They are the bridge between the Brands & Development team and
the Consumers. The Customer Development team makes sure that we, as a company, meet
the everyday needs of people everywhere through ensuring that our brands are always within
the reach of our customers and consumers. To do so, innovative new channels of distribution,
ensuring visibility of our brands through attractive merchandising, and developing our
distributors to improve our penetration and coverage are vital responsibilities entrusted
winning our Customer Development team. Increasing competition and the beginning of
modern trade has obligated customer management to shift from "Traditional Sales" to "Trade
Marketing". With more trade sophistication, the responsibility of Customer Development is
evolving into Relationship Marketing where Channel Development, Merchandising, and
Distributor Development play a central part in keeping the company ahead of competition
and in outpacing market change.
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32. How Things Work At UBL CRM: Starting from the depot to reaching the products to the
market, Unilever CD plays very important role. These are:
 Proper indenting of the products with focus on special brands and SKUs by managing
the distributors money
 Handling the products with care during transit so that the products in their real state
can be delivered to the market.
 Training the distributors field force about the products/ brands/their usage and how to
convince the retailers
 Planning about the product placements in the markets, delivering the newest of the
brands to the remotest of the places
 Making sure that all the brands with their relevant SKUs are present in the right
outlets
 Segmenting channels according the image and requirement of the brands
 Setting SO‟s targets of LPC so that every SKU of every brand is available in the right
places
 Ensuring top-class visibility that appeals the consumers.
Price:
 Surf Excel mini pack sold for the price sensitive consumer patterns in Bangladesh. Min
Lipton 2 tk. pack.
 Lux soap is being customized to a new version reducing its chemical and other features to
compete and grab the market segment.
 Wheel lemon powder & Sunsilk are the economical brands for Bangladeshi market.
 Wheel bar soap, Lux, Lifebuoy, Lipton, clear etc. are competitively priced brands.
 Dove, Vaseline, Ponds are highly priced for those who are by class and represents
prestige.
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33. UBL’s Trade Structure:
The trade structure of outlet is divided in two groups. They are-
 Modern trade: Modern trades are self service independent stores located in urban
areas. It started to emerge since the end of 1999. This channel is growing very fast in
number. The cumulative growth of the trade is 44%. These stores are small in number
but developing very quickly. Till to date there are 112 stores operating countrywide.
The contribution of this trade is 7.5% in Dhaka & 3% countrywide.
 General trade: The rest of the traditional stores that have been running since the
beginning are fall under the category of General trade. If the modern trade is
contributing 3%, the rest of the 97% contribution comes from general trade. There are
1100000 stores outlets under this category operating countrywide. The breakdowns
are:
 There are 1100000 outlets
 155000 are directly covered in urban areas
 1850000 are directly covered in rural areas
 210000 coverage through pollydut (local agent)
Marketing Strengths of Strong Brands like UBL:
 Its presence in several product categories
 Various brands
 Numerous variants and pack size
 Wide ranging options to fulfill diverse aspirations and taste
 Tailoring products to satisfy consumers with different needs and means
 Covering the country by hundreds of thousands of outlets
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34.  This wide range of products and brands offered by UBL shows the realization of the
simple universal fact – “different individuals have different needs”.
 CSR activities taken into action by Unilever.
 Improved perceptions of product performance.
 Greater loyalty.
 Less vulnerability to competitive marketing actions.
 Less vulnerability to marketing crises.
 Larger margins.
 More inelastic consumer response to price increases.
 More elastic consumer response to price decreases.
 Greater trade cooperation and support.
 Increased marketing communication effectiveness.
 Possible licensing opportunities.
 Additional brand extension opportunities.
CBBE (Customer Based Brand Equity) of UBL:
The CBBE is formally defined as the differential effect that brand knowledge has on
consumer response to the marketing of that brand. Brand knowledge is the key to creating
brand equity. Brand knowledge has two components: Brand awareness & brand image.
Brand Awareness of UBL:
a. Brand Recognition: Knorr soup is a new brand in BD market but well recognized as
brand of Unilever.
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35. b. Brand Recall: Lifebuoy hand wash is a new product for the healthy living. But a
customer buying the hand wash for the first time will be aware of the Lifebuoy as it is
the oldest brand of Unilever.
Brand Awareness Advantages: Learning advantages, Consideration advantages & Choice
advantages.
Brand Image of UBL:
A positive brand image is created by marketing programs that link strong, favorable and
unique associations to the brand in the memory. UBL uses these core brand values to capture
the brand awareness and hold its brand image.
An example is given below as the mental map:
Brands Emotional Descriptive Brand
Modifier modifier functions
AXE Stylish Men Personal Care
Surf Excel Dirt is good Powerful Washing Home Care
Table: 1 Brand Mantra
Brand Positioning of UBL: The act of designing the company‟s offer and image is done by
brand positioning so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer‟s
minds.
 “U” Vitality: Since the U logo has been taken by Unilever it has been attached with
each & every single brands to position in the customers mind.
 “U” Leveraging: As the U logo is attached with every brand, a new customer of a
particular existing Unilever brands or a customer of a new brand in the market is
highly leveraged. It positions in the mind as a part of Unilever group.
 Individual Brands: Although Unilever has its U logo, its each brands has different
logos with different motives and vitality. Thus it positions as a versatile identity with
the essence of perfection & U power.
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36.  Descriptive or customer oriented: Distributors, shoppers, consumers each has
different learning & perception. So, the brand is positioned in a customized way.
 Behavioral or product oriented: Customers of Toothpaste Market.
 Sensory Segment: Seeking Flavor and Product Appearance like AXE.
 Sociable: Seeking brightness Ponds & Fair & Lovely.
 Worriers: Seeking Decay Prevention solution dove & Vaseline.
 Independent: Seeking low price introduces wheel.
 Size: Adequate sales potential like clear & dove shampoo has various pack sizes
 Accessibility: Distribution outlets and communication media countrywide.
 Responsiveness: Favorable toward marketing program
 Shallow: Not ready to switch, but may be considering alternatives. So, Lux is changed
seasonally.
 Average: Comfortable with their choice; unlikely to switch in the future like Dove.
 Entrenched: Staunchly/faithfully loyal; unlikely to change in the forseeable future like
wheel bar soap & washing powder etc.
 Strongly unavailable: Strongly prefer their current brand. Unilever pure it is an
example of it.
 Weakly unavailable: Preference lies with their current brand, although not strongly.
 Ambivalent (Unsure): As attracted to the “other” brand as to their current choice.
 Available: Prefer the “other” brand but have not yet switched.
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37. Sustainable Development
Sustainability or Sustainable Marketing:
A Marketing practice or concept that fulfils the needs of consumers and businesses while also
preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Marketing concept means meeting the current needs and wants of customers and the
company fulfilling more effectively and efficiently than the competition. Whereas the societal
marketing concept considers the future welfare of the consumers and the strategic planning
concept considers future company needs, the sustainable marketing concept considers the
both. It calls for socially and environmentally responsible actions that meet both the
immediate and the future needs of the customers and the company.
Needs of Consumers
Now Marketing Concept Strategic Planning Concept
Sustainable Marketing
Future Societal Marketing Concept
Concept
Now Future
Needs of Business
Figure: 4 Sustainable Marketing Concept
Environmentalism:
An organized movement of concerned citizens and govt. agencies to protect and improve
people‟s current and future living environment. It is an important concern for the sustainable
living.
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38. Environmental Sustainability:
A management approach that involves developing strategies that both sustain the
environment and produce profits for the company.
The Environmental Sustainability Portfolio:
On the basis of the internal & external factors against today & tomorrow concern, the
environmental sustainability can be reviewed. Thus, 4 important issues are found as the
following:
Today: Tomorrow:
Greening Beyond
Greening
Pollution Prevention New Clean Technology
Internal Eliminating or reducing Developing new sets of
waste before it is created environmental skills and
capabilities
Product Stewardship Sustainability Vision
External Minimizing environmental Creating a strategic
impact throughout the entire framework for future
product life cycle sustainability
Figure: 5 The Environmental Sustainability Portfolio
Sustainable Development Program of Unilever:
The world is facing immense challenges. Find out how we are creating a better future every
day, working closely with consumers, NGOs, employees, customers and suppliers. Lots of
people say they care about sustainability, but how many actually change their behavior? What
can Unilever do to bridge this gap and inspire a positive change to our culture and habits? In
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39. November 2011, for the first time, they published their own model of effective behavior
change: Unilever's Five Levers for Change. By 2020, they will halve the environmental
footprint of our products, help more than 1 billion people take action to improve their health
and well-being, and source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably.
1 Billion people will
improve their health &
well being
1/2 The
environmental footprint
of Unilever Products
100% Agricultural
raw materials will be
sourced sustainably
Figure: 6 Three Main Targets of Unilever
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40. Unilever Sustainable Living Plan:
UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE
LIVING PLAN
ENHANCING
IMPROVING HEALTH REDUCING
LIVELIHOODS
AND WELL-BEING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT By 2020
By 2020 Unilever will help more than
By 2020 their goal is to halve the environmental the livelihoods of 100
1
footprint of the making and use of products of thousands of people
billion people take action to improve
as they grow their business. will be enhanced as
their health and well-being.
their business grows
NUTRITION GREENHOUSE WATER WASTE
HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE BETTER
Improving the taste Halve the Halve the
HYGIENE GASES water SOURCING LIVELIHOODS
and nutritional waste
By 2020 Halve the associated By 2020 By 2020
quality greenhouse associated
more than a billion with with 100% of 500,000+
of all our products. gas impact of
people will improve the agricultural raw smallholder
By 2020 we will our the
consumer farmers
their hygiene habits double disposal of materials will
products across use
& safe products be sourced and small-scale
the proportion of the of our sustainably. distributors
drinking water to our lifecycle by products
will be in the
500 million people. portfolio that 2020. by 2020.
meets supply chain.
This will help reduce
the highest
the incidence of nutritional
life-threatening standards, based
diseases like on
diarrhoea. globally recognised
dietary guidelines.
Figure: 7 Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
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41. Inspiring Sustainable Living: Experts insights into consumer behavior &
Unilever’s 5 Levers for Change:
Successful change comes from a real understanding of
people, their habits and their motivations. The challenge of
sustainable living requires all to work together and be bold
and ambitious in hopes for the future.
Unilever has an ambitious plan to grow our business in a
way that helps improve people‟s health and well-being,
reduces environmental impact and enhances livelihoods.
Inspiring consumers to adopt new sustainable products and
behaviors is central to this. After all, two thirds of the
greenhouse gas impacts of their products across the lifecycle and about half of our water
footprint is associated with consumer use, as distinct from manufacturing or sourcing
ingredients.
The Five Levers for Change helps provide the insights needed, whether it is encouraging
consumers to use less water when washing clothes or washing their hands before meals and
after going to the toilet. They systematically identify: barriers that stop people from adopting
a new behavior; triggers –to start a new behavior & motivators to help them stick with the
new behavior. Next, all those insights are taken and considered how to inspire the change
that‟s needed using each of Unilever‟s Five Levers for Change.
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42. Barriers Triggers
make it make it
UNDERSTOOD EASY
make it a make it
HABIT DESIRABLE
make it
REWARDING
Motivators
Figure: 8 5 Levers for Change
Make it UNDERSTOOD: This Lever raises awareness and encourages acceptance. Many
people believe that if their hands look clean, then they are clean. Lifebuoy soap‟s „glow-
germ‟ demonstration helps children in India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh understand
that washing hands with water alone isn‟t good enough to get rid of germs. Ultra-violet light
shows the germs left behind on their hands when they wash with water alone. Hands are
washed again with soap and shown as germ-free under the same ultra-violet light.
Make it EASY: This Lever establishes convenience and confidence. In many parts of the
world, laundry is washed by hand. It is typically in these countries that water is scarce. TV
commercials created high awareness but proved not to be enough to establish confidence.
Live demonstration events and product samples helped to build confidence that the new way
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43. of rinsing was enough to remove all residues and showed the convenience in terms of saving
time and water.
Make it DESIRABLE: This Lever is about „self and society‟ because humans are social
animals. Unilever tend to emulate the lifestyles and habits of people we respect – like our
parents or sometimes a celebrity – and follow norms in society.
Make it REWARDING: This Lever demonstrates the proof and payoff. The brand campaign
showed how families could save a lot a year on utility bills by cutting water & electricity use,
as well as having a positive impact on the environment.
Make it a HABIT: This Lever is about reinforcing and reminding. Lifebuoy soap‟s hand
washing campaigns run over a minimum of 21 days to encourage repetition of behavior in
relevant settings every day. During each day of the programme, children participate in
activities designed to deliver the hand washing message in an engaging and memorable way.
Comic books, posters, quizzes and songs all work to remind them about the message of hand
washing at key occasions.
Recent Sustainable Actions by Unilever:
Heart Age: Changes in diet and lifestyle are increasing the risk of people developing heart
disease. Unilever and the World Heart Federation launched Heart Age, a new online tool that
uses diet and lifestyle factors such as weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking to
estimate heart health. The tool is currently available in 23 countries.
Improving oral health: We estimate that more than three billion people do not brush twice a
day. Signal, Pepsodent and Close Up's mission is to improve oral health by getting children
and their families around the world to brush day and night using fluoride toothpaste.
Sustainable palm oil: Unsustainable palm oil cultivation is contributing to deforestation and
climate change. Unilever is encouraging industry-wide discussion and action towards a
sustainable future. Pledges made on palm oil as part of the Consumer Goods Forum
deforestation target are contributing to a growing market for sustainable palm oil.
Project Hope – Vietnam: Unilever's innovative micro-enterprise projects are helping to create
a better future for women in rural areas of India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines.
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44. Project Hope in Vietnam provides women with credit, training and bicycles to sell our
products in 12 provinces along the Mekong Delta.
Packaging - Hazeline pouches: Innovative packaging design can help reduce environmental
impacts and benefit consumers too. Unilever's Hazeline shampoo refill pouch in China
generates only a third of the waste of a normal pump bottle and offers cost savings too.
UBL Sustainability Approach:
Our biggest challenges are Poverty, malnutrition, climate change and water scarcity: these are
some of the big challenges facing the world and our business today.
Hygiene & well-being:
Unilever home and personal care brands can make a positive difference to people‟s health
and well-being. But achieving lasting improvements depends on people changing their
everyday habits.
Every year over 3.5 million children die before the age of five because of diarrhoea and acute
respiratory infections. One billion people lack safe drinking water. Most people, the world
over, are affected by tooth decay and gum disease.
Unilever are making a difference in all these areas – not just by providing products such as
Lifebuoy soap, Signal/Pepsodent/Close Up toothpaste and Pureit household water purifiers,
but by encouraging people to improve their everyday hygiene habits.
 They make effective products that promote health and well-being – and, as in the case
of Lifebuoy, have done for 100 years
 They transform people's everyday habits through effective behavior change
campaigns
 They work with partners, including governments, health agencies and non-profit
groups, to achieve wider improvements in health and well-being.
 Their Global Health through Hygiene Programme works with our brands and partners
such as the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UNICEF and the World
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45. Bank, to improve our technical capability in the area of health and hygiene,
particularly in evaluating behavior change.
 Pepsodent Dentibus takes expert advice and free checkup opportunities to the people
and to schoolchildren so that the future generation of Bangladesh can have confident
bright smiles
 Facing the major challenge of communicating to consumers across Bangladesh, our
health brands Lifebouy and Pepsodent initiated health awareness campaigns that have
brought the message of healthy living to millions of people.
 With its major manufacturing facilities in Chittagong, Unilever Bangladesh harbours
an old association with Maa Shishu O General Hospital.
 Unilever Community Health Care Service programme has been initiated since 2007
by Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. to provide free health care facilities to people around
Chittagong
Education and Training:
Education & training are key to personal development, whether inside our company or in the
community. UBL‟s commitment to high quality standards in the workplace has enabled us to
share management practices and transfer skills outside the Company. These programs address
vastly differing socio-economical needs around Bangladesh. They promote employee
volunteer teacher projects for children in schools that UBL supports. They also promote
several health and hygiene awareness programs in remote corners of the country. Education
for all, Higher Education Scholarships, Chevening Scholarships are some of the actions.
Women Empowerment:
 UBL believes it is necessary that women, comprising half of the country's population,
be progressively brought into the mainstream of economic activities to bolster
development. Here we talk about some of our initiatives.
 Project Joyeeta and Aparajita is helping rural women stand on their own two feet and
enabling them to be financially empowered. „Aparajita‟ is a unique initiative of
Unilever Bangladesh to provide sustainable opportunities for over 2900 women in
rural Bangladesh to earn their livelihood
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46.  Fair & Lovely Foundation, Fair & Lovely Scholarship Programme, Supplementary
Education Programme with Faria Lara Foundation, Urban Vocational Training, Fair
& Lovely Uttorone Nari are some other actions regarding women empowerment.
Shada Moner Manush:
In Bangladesh, there are people with hearts of gold, people as called „Shada Moner Manush‟.
These people have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of those around them, not for
monetary gain or for political benefit but because they care.
Unilever Bangladesh took the initiative to uncover 10 such unsung heroes and bring them to
center stage through a nationwide search called „Shada Moner Manush‟ in 2006. In a
continuation of this effort, ten more individuals were given the title „Shada Moner Manush‟
in 2008, in due recognition of their contribution to the community.
The activation became an initiative that moved the hearts of the nation and focused attention
onto „everyday heroes‟. From an initial 3500 entries that were received, based on the
impact their work had created, the duration of their work, commitment and degree of
challenges faced, a list of 10 individuals were finally selected. The 10 winners were
Fazilatunnessa Bulu, Manobendro Nath Sarkar, Rakib-ud-Dowla Akhand, Jahanara Begum,
Kanai Chandra Das, Md Jahir Alam, Dr Khalequzzaman, Md Shamsuddin Mondol, Sreemat
Tilokananda Mahathero and Shudhir Chandra Bardhan. On 6 th June 2008, the winners were
each honored with a gold medal, a crest, an uttoriyo, and a cheque of Tk 1 lakh each.
UBL’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility):
The success of UBL‟s business relies on a range of stakeholders, including consumers,
customers, employees, suppliers, communities and public bodies. UBL considers their
corporate social responsibilities when they interact with the key stakeholders.
 Consumers: They are committed to making our products safe, affective accessible and
affordable, while marketing them responsibly.
 Customers: Sustainability issues are now key to their relationships with large retailers
who make up a growing share of our sales.
 Employees: They are making good progress in transforming Unilever's business
structures and ways of working for the long-term health of our business.
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47.  Suppliers: They continue to assess our suppliers against their Business Partner Code,
working with peers to create a common approach to supplier assessment.
 Communities: They seek to contribute positively to the communities in which they
operate, engaging the talents and resources of our people and partners.
 Public policy engagement: They strive to be trusted members of society wherever
they operate, working transparently with governments and other partners to fulfill
their responsibilities and achieve goals.
Recent Sustainable Actions by UBL:
 Lifebuoy to the rescue: Working with the Friendship charity, Unilever Bangladesh
sponsored the complete transformation of a French oil-barge into a comfortable
residential boat with proper amenities for medical procedures.
 Eco-efficiency: Unilever Bangladesh Limited always tries to reduce the impacts of
company operations by efficient manufacturing equipments and proper waste
management system.
 Eco-innovation: Unilever Bangladesh Limited also aim to mitigate the impacts of
Unilever Bangladesh Limited products by using recyclable packages and safe
ingredients.
 Sustainability programs in fish, agriculture and water. Unilever Bangladesh Limited
Code of Business Principles.
 Fair Business Practice & supporting the local communities.
 Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. launched a programme to take steps towards creating a
Greener Bangladesh and to help protect the country by restoring its greenery.
 Project Lighthouse: Unilever decided to take a different approach to helping the Sidr
affected people by rebuilding one of the worst affected villages called “Char Nazir”
which was home to 75 families.
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48. Sustainable Development as a Brand Building Factor
Sustainable living plan has been the key fact of Unilever as their mission, vision & goal are
all attached with it. Unilever are a Successful, Growing, and Sustainable Business. They work
to create a better future every day. They help people feel good, look good and get more out of
life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. They will also inspire
people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world. They
will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size of our company
while reducing their environmental impact.
Figure: 9 Doubling Company by Reducing Environmental Impact
In order to live within the natural limits of the planet there is no option but to decouple
growth from social and environmental impact. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP)
sets out our path to achieving this. It includes around 60 targets and embraces all aspects of
our own operations, going beyond them to the entire lifecycle of our products. Innovation and
technology will be the key to achieving their goals. Equally important will be their ability to
change consumer behavior with 5 levers for change. Thus building their brands
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49. Business Model:
Their aim is to deliver growth. But not growth at any cost – rather a new sustainable and
equitable form of growth. Strong business performance is driven by our brands, people, and
sustainability – which is increasingly giving us a true competitive advantage. We will invest
in strengthening our brands so that they drive profitable growth as part of a sustainable
business model: the more they sell, the more efficiently they can operate and, at the same
time, by reducing the cost of running their business we can invest more in their brands,
innovations, and advertising and promotions. This, in turn, enables them to sell more.
Brands &
Innovation
Business
Performance
Great People Sustainable
Great Place Living Plan
Figure: 10 Business Model
As a FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) company, their business model centres on
building great brands which consumers know, trust, like, and buy in conscious preference to
competitors‟ products. Unilever brands command loyalty and affinity and deliver superior
performance. They help consumers to perform simple but essential everyday tasks.
Innovation is nourishment for our brands. It helps to deliver superiority, increases their
competitiveness and allows us to appeal to the widest range of consumers. Increasingly, their
innovations are designed to enable sustainable living.
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50. As a major employer, our business model is rooted in our people. They have a distinctive set
of values and they attract people who bring a sense of purpose to their work. They reward in
line with performance and create a climate where people are incentivized to excel. We
develop leadership capabilities early and place priority on building tomorrow‟s leaders today.
All this combines to build a business of great people.
A further element of our business model is sustainable living. External factors will move it
from being the choice of a concerned few to a new norm for billions in this decade.
Companies who move quickly to enable it can seize major competitive advantage by doing
so. The aim is to help people move to a more sustainable way of using our products and
reduce the current rate of consumption of scarce resources.
Unilever business model is designed to deliver sustainable growth, where sustainable means
four things:
 It is consistent
 It is competitive
 It is profitable; and
 It meets major social and environmental needs.
Report of the Directors about Unilever:
In 2011, Unilever implemented their strategy with discipline, growing ahead of our markets
and gaining share overall despite a tough economic environment.
Underlying sales growth ahead of their markets at 6.5% with price up 4.8% and volume
growth 1.6%• Emerging markets delivered 11.5% underlying sales growth• Turnover up 5%
at €46.5 billion despite a negative currency impact of (2.5)%.
A comparative review of the key financial and non-financial indicators is illustrated for the
year 2010 & 2011 as the following:
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51. Key Financial Indicators
Particulars 2010 2011
Underlying Sales Growth 4.1% 6.5%
Underlying Volume Growth 5.8% 1.6%
Underlying Operating Margin 15% 14.9%
Free Cash Flow €3.4 billion €3.1 billion
Key Non-Financial Indicators
Particulars 2010 2011
Health And Hygiene: People Reached With 13.5 million 34.5 million
Lifebuoy Handwashing Programmes
Nutrition: Products Meeting Salt Levels 60% 61%
Equivalent To 5g Per Day
Greenhouse Gases: Co2 From Energy Per 133.59kg 117.41kg
Tonne Of Production
Water: Water Per Tonne Of Production 2.68m3 2.48m3
Waste: Total Waste Per Tonne Of 6.48kg 4.77kg
Production
Sustainable Sourcing: Palm Oil Purchases 37% 64%
From Sustainable Sources
Better Livelihoods: Number Of Shakti 45,000 45,000
Entrepreneurs
People: Total Recordable Accident 1.63 1.26
Frequency Rate per 1m hours worked per 1m hours worked
Table: 2 Report of Directors
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52. Brands Delivering Sustainable Growth:
 PURE IT: Provides people with safe and affordable drinking water where supplies are
of poor quality, and without the need for gas, electricity or a pressurized supply.
 KNORR: Goes to extraordinary lengths to provide great-tasting products which help
people to prepare delicious and nutritious meals for their families every day.
 LIPTON: Is committed to sourcing all its tea sustainably to help conserve the
environment and improve the livelihoods of tea workers, their families and
communities.
 DOVE: Helps women to realize their personal potential for beauty and encourages
men to take better care of themselves by engaging them with products that deliver
superior care.
From the above comparative data and evaluation of brands‟ values in consideration with the
sustainability and brand model based on sustainability concept, it is obvious that how the
sustainable development program of Unilever is associated with brand building.
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53. Findings, Recommendations & Conclusion
Major Findings:
 As a large MNC, Unilever has so many aspects to consider.
 As a FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), it has made a great impact on our country
and has become on the largest FMCGs.
 It is a little difficult to conduct a survey on Unilever and to collect the data and samples.
 Building a brand has been an important concern for an organization now-a-days.
 Besides, the sustainable development factors and issues like CSR are given too much
priority to leverage the brand.
 While doing the proposal, many things have been found to know and learn.
 Unilever‟s U has been a great strength for its individual brands.
 Home care and food products brands are very few in numbers.
 Unilever has contributed a lot on sustainability issues than any other FMCG
manufacturers.
 The share prices and the turnover have increased over the past few years in significant
figures.
 UBL has segmented the BD market and offered products in new varieties.
 There are no R&D centers in BD.
 Sustainable development program has not been taken effectively as taken globally.
 5 levers of changing behavior and sustainable living plan is not familiar to the people.
 The corporate culture and CSR has been a great success for them.
 As a customer I have found I including my family are purchasing and consuming about
40% of our weekly purchases.
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54. Recommendations:
 Unilever should work on their visibility and relevance to their offer.
 The must look even for closer to make the customer feel like buying not only the physical
product but also a trust with it.
 The retailer and suppliers must be given priority in some cases.
 There should be an effective promotional campaign to attract more customers.
 Reliability must be created among the customers to sustain them as well as to make a
good profit.
 By joining “Poribesh Bandhob” (a social community) UBL can reduce its environmental
impact as well as create awareness among people in a large scale.
 Create new sustainable agricultural sources from Bangladesh.
 Creating awareness regarding saving the utilities (water & electricity) and reducing the
waste.
 Introduce more brands in Bangladesh.
 Making people aware of the environmental impacts caused by the consumption process &
inform how they can help it by taking Unilever products and behaving in a sustainable
way.
 Packaging of a few brands must be changed to lift up its vitality & position UBL brands.
Conclusion:
Unilever Bangladesh limited is one of the leading multinational companies in Bangladesh. I
had the opportunity to research and make a project on this company during my internship
program. I have worked hard in collecting the data and conducting the research regarding its
branding & sustainable development.
This report has provided some interesting insight into the activities of MNC like Unilever,
Customer Development, Branding strategies, Sustainability and a lot about UBL. There is a
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55. huge impact of Unilever on the globe as well on Bangladesh. I billion people use its products
daily and they are making a good turnover. So, it is obvious that their brand building & its
key factors are well organized and effective in a country like BD having a consumer groups
with reasonable price and less concerned with brand performance and its core values.
However, there are some major findings and recommendations to look over carefully for
UBL to sustain their growth and gain success in the new markets & cope with the upcoming
futures.
Finally, I would like to say that this project paper at UBL has increased my practical
knowledge of Business Administration and made my BBA education more complete and
successful.
References:
 Principles of marketing / Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong, 13th edition
 www.unilever.com
 www.unilever.com.bd
 Marketing Research / Malotra & Dash, 6th edition.
 www.google.com/images
 www.wikipedia.org
 Financial Express, Dailies
 www.sustainability.com
 www.youtube.com/unilever
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