Dear Shareholders,
In the Financial Year 2023-24, your Company, Hindustan Unilever Limited
(HUL) continued to deliver a resilient performance in a challenging business environment.
We witnessed gradual deflation in commodity prices in parts of our portfolio after a long
period of high inflation. However, cumulative inflation continued to remain high. At the
same time, uneven rainfall resulted in subdued agricultural output and affected rural
demand. Navigating this macro-economic environment, we continued to focus on building
unmissable superior brands, driving operational excellence and developing long-term
capabilities that will help us leverage the many opportunities that India presents.
A Land of Opportunities
One of the fastest growing economies in the world, India, is fast
progressing on its 'Viksit Bharat 2047' roadmap, with an aim to become a developed nation
by the 100th year of its independence.
The plan, that was recently unveiled, chalks out actionable and
measurable goals in the areas of economic growth, sustainability, ease of living, ease of
doing business and social welfare. The Government is taking several steps in this
direction including, making significant investment on infrastructure and providing impetus
to manufacturing. Along with the India Stack, a one-of-its-kind digital public
infrastructure, these present long-term growth opportunities for businesses. At the same
time, low per capita
FMCG consumption presents significant headroom for growth for companies
such as ours. We need to leverage this opportunity and partner in the nation's growth
journey.
At HUL, we have already embarked upon this journey and are building
muscle for the future.
Transforming to Grow
The Beauty and Wellness space in India is evolving with rapid speed.
With changing lifestyles, increasing disposable incomes and higher exposure to global
trends, our consumers are looking for premium beauty products.
With one of the largest beauty and personal care businesses in India,
we are at a unique position to leverage this premiumisation opportunity. We are extending
our current brands into high-demand premium spaces by introducing new formats, and at the
same time, launching brands to capture these new demand spaces. To bring more focus to our
strong portfolio in the Beauty and Personal Care business, we have transitioned to two
separate businesses - Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care from 1 st April, 2024.
Riding the Digital Wave
India is the world's largest and fastest growing market for digital
consumers. It is expected to grow further with its online shopper base overtaking that of
the United States.
At HUL, we have been on a journey to strengthen our digital backbone
and become an intelligent enterprise. For instance, our Agile Innovation Hub continues to
leverage technology to gather information and identify trends or new demand spaces; it
then enables us to use digital resources to launch on-trend innovations in record time.
Similarly, our Supply Chain Nerve Center helps integrate the Plan, Source, Make and
Deliver pillars to drive faster decision-making and action. We continue to create a more
agile and responsive business through a variety of digital tools and technologies.
Innovating for the Future
We continue to innovate across the value chain to address the evolving
needs of our customers and consumers. Based on our deep local understanding of consumers,
we leverage our global repertoire of knowledge, to bring to them products that are
superior and accessible. We have access to cutting- edge world class R&D and
innovation capabilities including three R&D centres in India that provide deep
science and technology expertise in emerging areas such as Renewable Ingredients,
Next-Generation Biology and Positive Nutrition.
During the year, we have launched a range of innovative products that
deliver on brand values, quality and sustainability. For example, we expanded our Horlicks
Plus range with two new scientifically backed products focused on adult and child
strength. To make our product packaging more sustainable, we innovated bottles with more
recycled plastics for Comfort, Surf excel liquid and Vim liquid.
Our innovations were not restricted to product formulation alone. Our
iconic tea brand Taj Mahal created a first-of-its kind billboard this year. The Taj Mahal
Megh Santoor campaign won the Guinness world record for the world's largest
environmentally interactive billboard. The billboard generated a rendition of the Raag
Megh Malhar with the help of raindrops falling on it.
Focusing on Sustainability
We have always believed that to generate superior long-term value, we
need to look beyond mere profits and care for all our stakeholders - our consumers,
customers, supplier & business partners, people, shareholders and above all, the
planet and society. We firmly believe that our future growth will depend on our
multi-stakeholder model and embedding sustainability across the value chain is indeed
non-negotiable.
Our approach to sustainability is four-pronged:
• We begin by driving change across our own operations and
workforce. For instance, we are continuously working towards creating a greener and
cleaner supply chain - be it by adopting non fossil fuel based energy solutions in our
manufacturing or appointing electric vehicles for last mile delivery.
• Next, using our size and reach, we strive to influence our value
chain to adopt sustainable solutions. For instance, this year, to strengthen our journey
towards net zero, we announced a collaboration with key chemical companies to pilot
the production of near-zero emissions, synthetic soda ash - a key ingredient in laundry
powder. We also asked some of our key supply partners to work with us on reducing
emissions by joining our global Supplier Climate Programme. Through the programme, we will
provide tailored support to develop their emission reduction plans.
• We continue to leverage our purpose-driven brands to drive
change in society. For example, Dove continued to challenge beauty stereotypes through the
'Stop The Beauty Test' campaign; Brooke Bond Red Label persevered to break social barriers
and bring people together through its advertising and Surf excel leveraged its 'Dirt is
Good' campaign to champion good behaviour in children.
• We strive to make a wider impact through initiatives aimed at
catalysing change in communities. For instance, the Hindustan Unilever Foundation, our
not-for-profit subsidiary working in the area of securing India's water future, has
created a cumulative and collective water potential of over 3.2 trillion litres.
Creating a Future-Fit Workplace
Our people are our biggest asset, and we believe that investing in our
people is an investment for the future. We continue to foster a culture that empowers our
people to grow - both professionally and personally, alongside the business.
In our journey towards building a future-ready workforce, we invested
over 1,00,000 hours in learning interventions for our people. We launched several policies
and interventions that will help further our journey on being a truly inclusive and
diverse workplace. In 2023, once again we retained our position as #1 Employer of Choice
across sectors, and as a preferred employer for women.
Embedding Values at the Core
Underlying our actions are our values. The values of Integrity,
Respect, Responsibility & Pioneering lie at the core of our business. And while we
change to meet the needs of a fast-changing India, our values don't. Armed with future-fit
capabilities and with our values embedded deeply into the business, we are well-placed to
deliver growth in a transforming India.
I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your support and
continued trust in Hindustan Unilever Limited.
| Regards, |
| Nitin Paranjpe |
| Chairman |