Inside our markets: Unilever’s business in Pakistan

How has Unilever grown in Pakistan in recent years?

Pakistan is one of the top 20 biggest markets for Unilever and our most recent figures report encouraging broad-based growth in the country. In our latest set of results, our Home Care business group saw the biggest surge in underlying sales growth at 39.7%, with all other business areas reporting increases too.

What is driving this strong growth?

Among the products driving the greatest gains in Pakistan is Lifebuoy shampoo, which launched to deliver on consumer demand for strengthening haircare that addressed the challenge of hair fall.

Knorr’s line of noodles has also seen impressive growth, by tapping into consumer trends for local flavours. And our TRESemmé haircare brand is another beauty success story in Pakistan, achieving very strong double-digit growth in recent reports.

Our products reach consumers in Pakistan through an extensive network of over 258,000 stores, ensuring widespread distribution and availability. Pakistan’s e-commerce sector is also growing rapidly. Currently valued at around $2 billion, e-commerce in Pakistan has an annual growth rate of approximately 100% – a trend we are sure will help fuel further growth for our brands.

How long has Unilever operated in Pakistan?

Unilever first set up a subsidiary in Pakistan in 1948 and opened a factory to manufacture LUX soap six years later. Further manufacturing sites for our Ice Cream and Nutrition brands followed in the 1990s and Unilever now has three owned and five third-party factories across the country.

Our Pakistan Head Office is based in Karachi, the country’s largest business hub, and Unilever Pakistan employs over 20,000 people.

What are some of the most popular Unilever brands in Pakistan?

Our brands hold leading positions in a vast range of segments in Pakistan and reach 99% of Pakistani households. According to independent research from the Access Retail panel, Unilever is No.1 in the soap, shampoo and noodles categories, and No.2 in laundry.

How is Unilever bringing purpose to life in Pakistan?

We are working to ensure all contributors to our value chain across Unilever Pakistan are paid fairly. We believe the country’s minimum wage is not enough.

Direct Unilever employees are already paid well above Pakistan’s living wage benchmark, and more than 60% of our indirect suppliers are also now paid at or above this level. We aim to bring our remaining suppliers up to the living wage by 2025.

Watch the short film below to find out why we’re calling for a living wage, rather than minimum wage, across Pakistan.

And finally, what makes Pakistan a unique market for Unilever?

Pakistan has a population of around 230 million people – equivalent to the UK, Turkey and Germany combined. More than 55% of households are middle class – more than India, Indonesia, China or Bangladesh – and this figure is increasing at pace.

The country has a young and well-educated population too, with more than 60% under the age of 30 and more than 6 million Pakistan residents holding higher education qualifications.