HUL announces ₹2,000 crore investment to expand manufacturing capacity

FMCG player HUL said on Wednesday it will invest ₹2,000 crore to increase production capacity in fast-growing premium categories in the beauty and wellness and home care segments.

According to HUL’s regulatory filing, the company’s board of directors approved the proposed investment on Wednesday.

HUL, which owns popular brands such as Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Domex, Vim, Cif and Comfort in the home care segment, said, “This investment will be made in multiple locations over a period of two years.”

This proposed investment is in line with the company’s strategy to focus on fewer, bigger bets and strengthen its presence in high-demand areas including premium skin care, hair care, personal care and home care liquids.

The company will leverage advanced automation and digital technologies, HUL said, adding that the capacity expansion is expected to increase supply chain efficiency and agility.

This will also enable HUL, which operates in the beauty and wellness segments with brands such as Dove, Lakmé, Pond’s, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Glow & Lovely, to respond ‘faster’ to evolving consumer needs.

“The initiative aims to create a future-ready manufacturing network that can effectively support emerging channels and high growth formats,” HUL said.

This investment reflects HUL’s strategic focus on scaling our brands and creating categories of the future to meet changing consumer needs, said Priya Nair, CEO and Managing Director.

“This also underscores our commitment to building a resilient, technology-enabled supply chain that delivers superior value to consumers,” he said.

HUL is the Indian subsidiary of British multinational consumer goods company Unilever. Globally, India is the second largest market for Unilever after the US, accounting for around 12-14 per cent of total sales.

Earlier this month, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández said that across geographies, the US and India are clear “anchor markets” for the FMCG sector.

In the December quarter, HUL delivered underlying sales growth (USG) of 5 percent, led by underlying volume growth of 4 percent.

“We focus on beauty, wellbeing and personal care, with an emphasis on premium segments, digitally native brands and e-commerce visibility, especially in the US and India,” he said.