Unilever has acquired British sustainable deodorant brand Wild for an undisclosed sum.
Other terms of the deal also were not disclosed, apart from that the brand’s founders, Charlie Bowes-Lyon and Freddy Ward, childhood friends and later cofounders, will continue to run the business.
Fabian Garcia, president of Unilever Personal Care, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Wild into the Unilever family. 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. Charlie, Freddy and the team have put consumers at the heart of the brand, which is a testament to its success.”
Wild was founded in 2020, with deodorant in reusable aluminum cases and biodegradable refills. It subsequently expanded its range to include body wash, hand wash and lip balms, all featuring refillable packaging.
Deodorant packs, including case and refills, retail in the U.K. for 12 pounds, with cases available in fun prints like pink cats, snowflakes or a bumblebee collaboration with Emma Bridgewater. Scents on offer include juicy mango, love potion, fresh cotton and sea salt, and thunderstorm.
The brand entered into retail in 2022 with Sainsbury’s in the U.K., and is now available at a number of British retailers including Boots, Amazon and Tesco. Most recently it expanded into the U.S. via an exclusive partnership with Target Corp.
Industry sources said the brand’s net sales reached 65 million pounds in 2024. To date, it has taken on about 10 million pounds in external funding.
Regarding the acquisition, Bowes-Lyon said: “We are thrilled to join Unilever, whose deep expertise and global reach will accelerate our mission to eliminate single-use plastic in bathrooms everywhere. Their belief in our refillable model is a powerful validation that sustainable change isn’t just possible, it’s inevitable.”
It will also help the brand scale at quick pace.
“Our product is really expensive for us to make. It’s hard for us to get good margins even at the scale we’re at now,” Bowes-Lyon said in an interview with WWD. “They have a huge amount of resources they pull together where they will be able to massively change that for us, which obviously will allow us to be much more profitable. They’re also connected to every retailer and distribution network in existence, and the potential to start fast-tracking that is really huge for us. Whether it’s displays in store or how much space we can get, or going into new stores next year, we’re really excited to reap the benefits of their networks and experience.”
For 2024, Unilever reported a 1.9 percent uptick in turnover to 60.8 billion euros while underlying sales growth was 4.2 percent in the 12-month period. It saw a 10.8 percent drop in net profit to 6.4 billion euros due to a loss on disposals and higher restructuring costs as a result of accelerating its productivity program.
Most recently, it was announced that Hein Schumacher suddenly eparted his role as Unilever’s chief executive officer and was succeeded by Fernando Fernandez.
