Unilever eyes Latin American markets with major new acquisition

22-May-2017 - Last updated on 23-May-2017 at 08:23 GMT

Unilever has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the personal care and home care brands of Quala, a Latin American consumer goods company.

According to the multinational, Quala has a strong presence in ten countries across Latin America: Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Peru, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Unilever says the acquisition will help consolidate the consumer goods giant’s standing in hair care globally, and contribute to both its oral care and male grooming business.

What is Quala?

Quala’s portfolio includes various strong local brands across personal care with a combined turnover of over USD 400M in 2016, including Savital/Savilé (Haircare and Skin Cleansing), eGo (Male Haircare and Styling), Bio-Expert (Haircare), Fortident (Oral Care) and Aromatel (Fabric Conditioners).

Paul Polman, CEO Unilever, said: “We are delighted to be acquiring Quala’s personal care and home care portfolio. Quala has done an outstanding job of building strong and competitive local brands.

Miguel Kozuszok, Executive Vice President, Latin America, Unilever, added: “Quala’s brands will give us an even sounder footing in Latin America, broadening our offering in Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. We look forward to continuing to grow these great brands.” The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sustainable value creation

According to Polman, the acquisition of Quala and the focus on Latin America that it represents plays part of the FMCG player’s wider strategic vision.

“The acquisition of Quala’s personal care and homecare business reinforces Unilever’s commitment to our long-term model of compounding growth and sustainable value creation,” he confirmed.

“The active management of the portfolio through bolt-on acquisitions such as this one, and the sustained investment in our existing brands, will help us deliver continued growth ahead of our markets.”

Euromonitor International, market research provider, has noted that the main contributors to Euromonitor’s growth last year were innovations in core categories – deodorants, hair care and male grooming – as well as further expansion in premium segments. The Quala acquisition looks set to build on this.