Unilever Acquires Wild, UK's Leading Natural Deodorant Brand
Launched in the UK in 2020, Wild Cosmetics became popular thanks to its refillable, plastic-free deodorants and lip balms as well as natural hand and body wash. Inititally sold though its direct-to-consumer channel only, the brand positioned itself as a premium, eco-friendly personal care brand and rapidly gained traction amongst shoppers. In 2021, it expanded into grocery retail through Sainsbury's, Boots and Holland & Barrett and quickly became UK's number one natural deodorant brand.
A key driver of Wild's success became its positioning as 'the water bottle of the bathroom', as co-founder Freddy Ward explained it for Brightpearl a few years back: 'The way I like to explain it is 80% of customers in the UK now use a reusable water bottle but less than 5% of people have a sustainable solution for their bathroom products'. He shared his vision of consumers making the shift to refillable personal care products the same way they do with refillable water bottles, as long as it is made easy thanks to convenient, sustainable solutions.
Less than four years after becoming widely available in the UK, Wild grew at a staggering +151% over three years to become the most popular deodorant brand, with sales of £46.9 million in 2023 (+77% YoY) and a pre-tax profit of £509,000 according to its annual report.
Partnering with Unilever is seen as a strategic move to scale this vision, leveraging Unilever's global reach and distribution network to drive widespread adoption. Bowes-Lyon, Wild's chief marketing officer, told The Guardian that having access to Unilever's distribution network and R&D would help accelerate its 'ultimate mission to remove plastic from the average Joe's bathroom' and to 'make sustainability mainstream'.
There is no reason to believe that Unilever would fall short of honoring this vision, especially as it is very aware of growing consumer and societal pressures around sustainability. Wild deodorants have grown faster than Unilever-owned deodorant brand and has gained strong eco-friendly credibility, making it an obvious strategic fit for the group. According to Fabian Garcia, the president of Unilever's personal care division, 'the brand's innovative approach to formulations and packaging, and social-first marketing, has made Wild an unmissably superior brand and a perfect complement to our personal care portfolio.'
Wild Cosmetics' strong brand equity, eco-friendly credentials, premium positioning and strong financial position made it a clear acquisition target for Unilever, especially as the company looks to move towards more premium, high-growth segments.
Zooming out, this acquisition marks a broader trend within the consumer goods space: established industry leaders acquiring young, agile brands that excel in product innovation and create desirable, authentic brands born to be close to the consumer. The rise of consumer interest in health, wellness and sustainability has also fueled this shift, highlighting an industry-wide push towards more agile, forward-thinking brands. Overall, this signals a positive shift and an encouraging future for brand founders and the consumer goods space, as it demonstrates how evolving consumer needs and behaviors are driving positive change, and ultimately rewarding innovation.
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