Unilever plans to speed up new lines as it fights demand slip

Ice cream-to-soap powder giant Unilever said it would bring a raft of new products to shoppers more quickly in 2016, as it attempts to overcome depressed consumer demand across the globe.

Boss Paul Polman described a bleak picture in emerging markets and developed economies, even though the consumer products company managed to achieve underlying sales growth of 4.1% last year.

However, net profits fell by 5% to €5.3 billion (£4 billion) and Unilever predicts an even tougher 2016.

“The level of uncertainty has never been higher,” Polman said.

“Last year I said we saw more tailwinds than headwinds. The tailwinds proved short lived,” he added.

Unilever said it saw deflation in all its European businesses all year.

It said developing new products and bringing them to market more quickly will help it to retain volume market share.

One of its successes in 2015 was the introduction of a dry spray deodorant in the US, where sales now exceed €100 million.

“Innovations are the engines of growth. Our innovations will be 20%-30% bigger than in the last three years,” Polman said.