Unilever Wants to Give Mayo and Marmite a Purpose

As chief executive officer of Unilever, Paul Polman transformed the sprawling maker of Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes, Cif cleaning sprays, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise into a test bed for the idea that companies can benefit from affiliation with social causes, such as improved hygiene or better access to toilets. While investors and analysts were initially skeptical, Polman was ultimately lauded for redefining the corporation as something more benign than a purely profit-driven enterprise, even as margins edged up slightly from the midteens to almost 20% during his tenure. Now, Alan Jope, the Scotsman who succeeded Polman in January, is amping up the strategy.

To set Unilever apart and combat what Jope calls “woke-washing”—the social responsibility equivalent of bogus “greenwashing” campaigns aimed at appearing environmentally conscious—he’s raising the volume on the message. In an effort to transform hundreds of products such as Tresemmé shampoo and Marmite yeast spread into beacons of justice and empowerment, Jope has ordered executives to assign a clear, specific mission to each. “We are committed to all our brands having a purpose—we will give them time to identify what this is and how they can take meaningful action,” he says.