Unilever's H1 2025 results: Food outperforms other categories

View profile for Priyal Thacker

Founder at Gusto Foods

Food is quietly outperforming. Unilever’s H1 2025 results prove that. Food beat personal care, home care, and even beauty in underlying sales growth. Foods USG: +2.2% Ice Cream USG: +5.9% - the highest across all categories! What does this actually mean? •⁠ ⁠Indulgence is now routine. Ice cream is no longer just a Sunday reward or a party dessert - it’s become a midweek craving, definitely beyond an occasional celebration. •⁠ ⁠Flavour-first “shortcuts” are winning. Products like spicy mayo, truffle drizzles, or curry pastes are replacing long prep. •⁠ ⁠Habit is beating novelty. The brands growing fastest aren’t launching 20 new things - they’re doubling down on the 3 - 5 products that keep getting reordered. As someone building in this space, I find this interesting because every two years you'll see food bump up with a new trend. At the end of the day, we cannot forget food is emotion, utility, and identity - all rolled into one. (dropping the link to the report in the comments)

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Khanish Chawla

Masters Food Science|| Food Techie|| University of Auckland”25|| NIFTEM”23|| Innovation-Driven. Curious mind. Scientific lens. Purpose-driven food innovation.

2mo

Absolutely loved this insight. Food is no longer just a need, it’s a habit, a mood, and a shortcut to joy. Consistency is winning over novelty, and flavour is leading the FMCG charge!😯

Ammar Hasan

Business Development | FMCG | Saeed Ghani | B2B Sales & Marketing Expert

2mo

where is the link?

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Nikhil Awasthi

D2C | PRODUCT MANAGEMENT | CRM | GROWTH & RETENTION MARKETING

2mo

Totally agree, Priyal! Being at Unilever, it's exciting to see food taking center stage — not just for taste, but for the emotion and everyday value it brings. Loved your perspective!

Divyia Ananthan

Management Associate|Operations and Supply Chain|Quality|Sales| Marketing|Public Relations|

2mo

Truly blessed to actually be in this industry..

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RAJAN CHHATWAL

OIC FOODS|Ex Unilever|Ex GSK|Ex Exito Gourmet|Ex JIL|Projects Commissioning and Qualification|HACCP Certified and AuditinglMicrobiologistlOperations|Dairy Specialist|HPP| QMS| Drying Tech| Nutritional Health Drinks

2mo

Nicely explained

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Such an interesting insight backed with data! We're witnessing a transformation in how people relate to food—it's now about emotional experiences rather than routine. As a Unilever employee and a big fan of our brands, it's exciting to see where we're heading! 💪 Capitalizing on this insight is key to driving sustained growth

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