unilver bangladesh l

Overview of Unilever Bangladesh 2014

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company, with a history of colonial exploitation, on which it has gradually built its capital. Today it owns most of the world's consumer product brands in food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever employs more than 247,000 people and had worldwide revenue of €48 760 million in 2002. Unilever has two parent companies: Unilever NV in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. This arrangement is similar to that of Reed Elsevier, and that of Royal Dutch Shell prior to their unified structure. Both Unilever companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business. The current non-executive Chairman of Unilever N.V. and PLC is Antony Burgmans while Patrick Cescau is Group Chief Executive. Unilever's major competitors include Nestlé and Procter & Gamble.


HISTORY OF UNILEVERLever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever. Lever established soap factories around the world. In 1917, he began to diversify into foods, acquiring fish, ice cream and canned foods businesses. In the Thirties, Unilever introduced improved technology to the business. The bus

In a history that now crosses three centuries, Unilever's success has been influenced by the major events of the day – economic boom, depression, world wars, changing consumer lifestyles and advances in technology. And throughout they've created products that help people get more out of life – cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.

America. The entrepreneurial spirit of the founders and their caring approach to their employees and their communities remain at the heart of Unilever's business today.

Unilever was formed in 1930 when the Dutch margarine company Margarine Unie merged with British soap maker Lever Brothers. Companies were competing for the same raw materials, both were involved in large-scale marketing of household products and both used similar distribution channels. Between them, they had operations in over 40 countries. Margarine Unie grew through mergers with other margarine companies in the 1920s.

In a history that now crosses three centuries, Unilever's success has been influenced by the major events of the day – economic boom, depression, world wars, changing consumer lifestyles and advances in technology. And throughout they've created products that help people get more out of life – cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.

Through this timeline you'll see how UBL brand portfolio has evolved. At the beginning of the 21st century, path to Growth strategy focused us on global high-potential brands and vitality mission is taking us into a new phase of development. More than ever, how brands are helping people 'feel good, look good and get more out of life' – a sentiment close to Lord Leverhulme's heart over a hundred years ago

Timeline

19th century: Although Unilever wasn't formed until 1930, the companies that joined forces to create the business we know today were already well established before the start of the 20th century.


1900s: Unilever's founding companies produced products made of oils and fats, principally soap and margarine. At the beginning of the 20th century their expansion nearly outstrips the supply of raw materials.

1910s: Tough economic conditions and the First World War make trading difficult for everyone, so many businesses form trade associations to protect their shared interests.

1920s: With businesses expanding fast, companies set up negotiations intending to stop others producing the same types of products. But instead they agree to merge - and so Unilever is created.

1930s: Unilever's first decade is no easy ride: it starts with the Great Depression and ends with the Second World War. But while the business rationalizes operations, it also continues to diversify.

1940s: Unilever's operations around the world begin to fragment, but the business continues to expand further into the foods market and increase investment in research and development.

1950s: Business booms as new technology and the European Economic Community lead to rising standards of living in the West, while new markets open up in emerging economies around the globe.

1960s: As the world economy expands so does Unilever and it sets about developing new products, entering new markets and running a highly ambitious acquisition program.

1970s: Hard economic conditions and high inflation make the 70s a tough time for everyone, but things are particularly difficult in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector as the big retailers start to flex their muscles.

1980s: The business expands into Central and Eastern Europe and further sharpens its focus on fewer product categories, leading to the sale or withdrawal of two-thirds of its brands.

1990s: The business expands into Central and Eastern Europe and further sharpens its focus on fewer product categories, leading to the sale or withdrawal of two-thirds of its brands.

The 21st

Centuries: The decade starts with the launch of Path to Growth, a five-year strategic plan, and in 2004 further sharpens its focus on the needs of 21st century consumers with its Vitality mission.


Unilever Design & History

In 2005, Unilever decided to change their logo to represent their new theme of vitality. The new logo was also planned to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the company. The new logo tells the story of Unilever and vitality. It brings together 25 different icons representing Unilever and its brands, the idea of vitality and the benefits Unilever brings to consumers. The icons are represented below.

Sun: The primary natural resource. All life begins with the sun- the ultimate symbol vitality. It evokes Unilever’s origin in port of sunlight & can represent a number of Unilever brands.

DNA: The double helix. The generic blueprint of life and a symbol of bio-science, it is a key to healthy life. The sun is the biggest ingredient of life and DNA is the smallest.

Bee: Represent creation, pollination, hard works and bio diversity. Bees symbolize both environmental challenges and opportunities.


Hand: A symbol of sensitivity, care and need. It represents both skin and touch.

Flower: Represent fragrance, when seen with the hand, it represents moisturizing cream.

Hair: A symbol of beauty and looking good. Placed next to the flower, it evokes cleanliness and fragrances; placed near the hand it suggests softness.

Palm tree: A natural resource, it produces palm oil as well as many fruits. Coconut and dates are also symbolize paralyze.

Spoon: A symbol of nutrition, tasting and cooking.

Bowl: A bowl of delicious smelling food. It can also represent a ready meal, hot drinks or soup.

Spice &

Flavors: Represent chili or fresh ingredients.

Fish: Represent food, sea or fresh water.

Sparkle: Clean,

Bird: A symbol of freedom. It suggests relief from daily chores, getting more out of life.

Recycle: Part of commitment to sustainability.

Lips: Represent beauty, looking good & taste

Ice-cream: A treat, pleasure or enjoyment.

Tea: A plant or an extract of a plant, such as tea, also a symbol of growing and farming

Particles: A reference to science bubbles and fizz.

Frozen: The plant is a symbol of freshness, the snowflake represent freezing, a transformational symbol.

Wave: Symbolize cleanliness, freshness and vigorous icon. (With the clothes icon)

Liquid: A reference to clean water and purity.


Container: Symbolizes packaging- a pot of cream associated with personal care.

Unilever Bangladesh

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd is one of the world’s most successful fast moving consumer goods manufacturing companies with local manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and business results.

Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd. as a subsidiary of Unilever is leading the home care, personal

care and food product market of Bangladesh. On 25thFebruary 1964 the eastern plant of Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd. was inaugurated at Kalurghat, Chittagong with a soap production capacity of approximately 485 metric tons. It was a private limited company with 55% share held by Unilever and the rest by the Government of Pakistan. After independence

the eastern plant was declared abandoned. But on 5thJuly 1973 it was registered under the name of Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd. as a joint venture company of Unilever PLC and the Govt. of Bangladesh with a share arrangement of 60.75% to Unilever and 39.25% to the Bangladesh Govt.

Type of business: Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with local manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and business results.

Operations: Home and Personal Care, Foods

Constitution: Unilever - 60.75% shares, Government of Bangladesh - 39.25%

Product

categories: Household Care, Fabric Cleaning, Skin Cleansing, Skin Care, Oral Care, Hair Care, Personal Grooming, Tea based Beverages.

Brands: Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Close Up, Sunsilk, Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Dove, Vaseline &Lakme.

Manufacturing

Facilities: The Company has a Soap Manufacturing factory and a Personal Products Factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a tea

Unilever at a Glance


packaging operation in Chittagong and three manufacturing units in Dhaka, which are owned and run by third parties exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh.

Employees: Unilever Operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10,000 people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and service providers. 99.5% of UBL employees are locals and they have equal number of Bangladeshis working abroad in other Unilever companies as expatriates

MissionUnilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. They meet everyday needs for nutrition; hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

VisionTo make cleanliness a commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, in order that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use the products.

GoalsThe goals of UBL are:

To manufacture high-standard products. Promoting products to the highest extent Producing large volume to achieve production cost economies. Enabling quality products to be sold out at obtainable prices.


Unilever Brand Variations

In Bangladesh the company operates in four distinct product categories. These are:

Fabric Wash Household care Personal care Foods

Fabric Wash

Wheel Laundry Soap Wheel Washing Powder Wheel Power White Surf Excel

Household Care

Vim Powder Vim Bar Vim Liquid

Personal Care


International Lux Lifebuoy Total Dove bar Lifebuoy Liquid soap

Skin Care Fair & Lovely Multivitamins Fair & Lovely Body Fairness Milk Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Fair & Lovely Menz Active Pond’s Age Miracle range Pond’s Daily Face Wash range Pond’s Cold Cream Pond’s Perfect result Cream Ponds Dream Flower Talc Pond’s flawless white range Pond’s White Beauty Range Pond’s Body Lotion Lakme skin care products Dove skin care products Vaseline skin care products

Hair Care Sun Silk Shampoo All Clear Shampoo Lifebuoy Shampoo Dove shampoo

Oral Care Close-up Toothpaste Pepsodent Toothpaste Pepsodent Toothpowder Pepsodent Tooth brush

Deodorant Rexona Axe

Foods

Lipton TaazaDanadar Lipton Taaza strong


Lipton Taaza Teabag.

Organizational Structure of Unilever

In terms of Unilever, they have two chairmen leading the company worldwide. They have seven top directors leading seven different departments. They have divided their worldwide business into different region and have different business groups to manage them.

Unilever Bangladesh limited falls under the Southeast Asian region. On a more micro scale, Unilever Bangladesh ltd is monitored by Hindustan lever Ltd. which oversees operation in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Srilanka. The chairman of Unilever Bangladesh Limited is known as the managing director. The management staff of the company consists of six layers, starting from junior manager (who are local managers) to manager grade 5 (who are Unilever managers). Apart from this the company also hires many non management staff as well as operatives to work in the factories.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited has five departments to carry out all the organizational functions. Respective director’s head are head of all departments. These departments are:

1. Customer Development Department Headed by Customer Development Director (CDD)

2. Brands & Development Department headed by the Brands and Development Director (B&DD)

3. Supply Chain Department headed by the Supply Chain Director (SCD)

4. Finance Department headed by Finance Director (FD) 5. Human Resources Department headed by the Human Resources Director (HRD)


Brands and Development Department:

The Brands Team has been expanded to Brands and Development, thus providing opportunity of increased coordination between the marketing and Development Team. Insight into consumer needs and aspirations is critical if new market opportunities are to be identified. New market opportunities must be identified if they are looking for sustainable profitable growth, keeping them miles ahead of their competitors. However it is also crucial to exploit technology and developments to translate the found insight into tangible products catering to the needs and aspirations of the consumers with speed. A deep understanding of both consumers and technologies provides an essential foundation for successful innovation. To ensure a successful innovation process at Unilever, Brands and Development have been bought together. This will help their development team to have closer contact with the consumer world, following the leads and cues of their aspirations and thus innovating products tailored accordingly at a faster pace. Brands and Development Department is further divided into six major areas. They include:

Home care Personal care Dental Services

Supply Chain Department:


The Supply Chain Director (SCD) who is in charge of planning, buying, manufacturing and distributing heads Supply Chain Department. The supply chain process constitutes a series of important activities ensuring smooth delivery to the consumers. Supply chain process led to joining planning and buying with manufacturing. This chain is further extended by joining distribution to the chain, thus integrating both backward and forward linkages. An integrated supply chain will give them the advantage of acting with speed, enabling them to keep up with pace of the ever changing business scenario. At present, it is divided into the following functions:

Manufacturing Engineering Company Buying Distribution Quality Assurance Planning

Finance and IT Department:

The Finance and IT departments are jointly headed by one Director. The main objectives of this department are to serve all the division and departments of the companies, to secure and safeguard company assets and interest, to ensure proper internal control within the company and above all, to be cost effective in order to get optimum benefit for the company while operating. At present the major sub departments are:

Business system Finance Legal. Food Tea export Marketing research

Human Resources Department:

The Human Resources Director (HRD) currently heads this department. The major Functions of this department are

Factory Personnel functions or Industrial Relations, Recruitment, Training and developments, labor welfare, Personnel Services and Security.

All these major personnel functions are integrated in the best possible way in Unilever Bangladesh Limited which results in its higher productivity. Industrial relations or the factory


personnel functions are looked after by factory personnel manager, training and development activities are supervised by Manager Human Resource Development, Employee Welfare, activities are monitored by Assistant Manager labor welfare, personnel services are looked after by the FPM along with the office services manager and finally security officer is responsible for all the security services At present, the total number of personnel in Unilever Bangladesh Limited are 720 which includes 159 in management & 543 unionized permanent workers.

Customer Development Department:

Managing customers i.e. retailers, wholesalers, and distributors, is becoming critical day by day. With the evolution of modern trade and aggressive local and international competition, role of Customer Management has also been gradually shifting from traditional “Sales: to “Trade Marketing”. Category Management, Space Management and In-store merchandising are becoming more and more important. Exploring and developing new channels are becoming critical to drive their business forward. With more and more sophistication, the role of Customer Management will evolve further and the whole game will be turned into “Relationship Marketing”. The customer management director (CMD) heads the Customer Management Department. Reporting to him are the Sales Operation Manager, Regional Sales Managers and Area Sales Managers. Company organized media is under the Sales Operation Manager. Assistant Area managers report to the Regional Sales Managers. Territory Managers report to the Assistant Area sales managers, Area Sales Managers and Regional Sales Managers, which differ in different sales areas. TheCustomer Management Department, early called ‘Sales Department’, is responsible for all company goods and maintains the following customer management strategy:

Strong distribution network Widest distribution with seasonal operation in cost effectives areas. Effective and focused company sales force Major thrust in rural market


Strategeies followed By Unilever

Functional Level Strategies: Unilever Bangladesh Ltd follows different functional level strategies to gain competitive advantages and sustain it in the long run in the matured industries.

They increase their efficiency through exploiting economies of scale and learning effects. For example, 808,720 bars of soaps, 1,023,810 packets of detergent powders, 154, 430 toothpaste tubes and sachets,329, 530 bottles and sachets of shampoo, 156, 910 tubes, jars, bottles and sachets of creams and lotions, and 35, 000 packets of tea are produced in one day in Bangladesh by Unilever.

They adopt flexible manufacturing technologies, upgrade the skills of employees through training and perform research and development function to design products that are easy to manufacture.

They have higher customer responsiveness rate. They carry out extensive research to innovate new products and modify the existing products to better satisfy the consumers.

They continuously innovate products, promotional activities, packaging and distribution. This way they can respond quickly to customer demands.

Business-Level Strategies: Unilever’s strategic managers adopt different business level strategies to use the company’s resources and distinctive competencies to gain competitive advantage over its rivals. These are:

They follow cost-leadership strategy as they have intermittent over capacity and the ability to gain economies of scale. This way they can produce cost effective products and yet be profitable.


They also follow differentiation strategy for some products to meet the needs of the consumers in a unique way.

They also target different market segments with different products to have broad product line. By product proliferation they reduce the threat of entry and expand the range of products they make to fill a wide variety of niches.

Strategy in the Global Environment:Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. is registered under Unilever. As a part of a global company it follows some generalized strategies and principals of Unilever. However, they also modify different strategies based on the national conditions. The different strategies that they follow in the global environment are stated below:

As a worldwide famous company and comprising internationally renowned brands gives them unique strengths that allow a company to achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, or customer responsiveness. The different policies and strategies Unilever follows and their experience is transferred to Unilever Bangladesh Ltd.

They import the raw materials from the places where it is less costly, thus achieve location economy.

They are locally responsive. They are always ready to improve and modify their products to meet the needs of the local customers.

UBL follows a multi domestic strategy where the companies extensively customize both their product offering and marketing strategy to different national conditions.

Corporate strategy: UBL carries out the following corporate level strategies:

They involve in short term contracts and competitive bidding for the supply of raw materials.

They have a diversified business. UBL has both related and unrelated diversification. They compete in nine different industries with various products from home care, personal care and even food products. They have economies of


scope as most of the products can share the same manufacturing facilities, inputs and specially the distribution channels.

Competitor Scenario

Category Products Of Unilever Competing brandsPersonal Wash Lux Keya Beauty Soap, Tibet

BeautySoap, Aromatic, Camelia

Lifebouy Dettol, Savlon, BactrolDetergent, Laundry and

Household WashWheel Laundry Soap Tibet, Keya Laundry Soap,

Chaaka,“Pocha” ball soap

Wheel Powder Tibet Washing Powder, KeyaWashing Powder

Surf Excel Tide, Ariel

Vim Liquid Trix , Saaf

Lifebuoy Liquid Dettol Liquid

Oral Care Close Up Colgate, Fresh Gel

Pepsodent White Plus, Medi PlusPepsodent Powder Magic tooth Powder

Skin Care Pond’s Face Wash, Scrub Mostly different foreign brands

Pond’s Lotion Meril, Johnson & Johnson

Pond’s Powder Tibet Talcum Powder, Meril Talc,

Johnson & JohnsonFair and Lovely Fair and Care, Emami

Hair Care Sunsilk Pantene and other foreign brands


All Clear Head & ShouldersDeodorant Rexona Mostly foreign brands

Axe

Food Lipton Taaza IspahaniMirzapore, Tetley,

SWOT Analysis

Brands have the added appeal for international heritage and connection. Almost all the brands are the top brands in their respective categories.

Strong hold over the distributors Has competitive advantage in terms of consumer insight, on-

shore manufacturing experience, and efficient human resources. Offers the consumers value for money with world-renowned

brands at an affordable price. Worldwide supply chain network, which helps them to get raw

material more in a more cost effective manner. Has access to top notch process and systems designed for

Unilever by the best consultants Can implement tried and tested processes of innovation and

process simplification with help for Unilever global assistance teams.

Strength

Suffers from consistent supply chain issues- with demand in the market often exceeding supply. In such situation, competitors find it very easy to make their own foothold.

As a brand developing country, has less opportunity to impact a brand’s direction.

Many global and regional decisions may not be in line with business’s well being at country level

Bangladesh trade structure is a lot different than majority of other Unilever operating countries: with modern trade being a very minuscule proportion of the business in Bangladesh, whereas elsewhere it is often an important-if not majority of the business.

Weakness


Has access to numerous global brands targeted to any and all target segments that can be sourced anytime by Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. With no huge brand building costs. This is something local competitors can never do.

Huge potential for growth as the Bangladesh economy gathers momentum.

In Bangladesh, penetration in personal products such as: Toothpaste, Shampoo, Deodorant is very low. While this is a challenge, it provides a huge opportunity to capitalize on the untapped market and limitless sales growth opportunities

Opportunities

Slow down of the economy in general can effect sales growths in the coming periods

New tax policy can effect growth and penetration of brands aimed at the upscale market

Competitors are not fully compliant with government regulations. Most of themevade taxes and therefore are able to offer the traders a higher margin.

As a result of globalization, trade barriers are slowly being lifted. Foreign products therefore are now entering the domestic market with greater ease.

Grey market imports and selling of Unilever brands could hurt UBL’s business.

Threats


Financial Performance

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. has delivered sustained double-digit top-line growth at an averageof nearly 3 times the country’s GDP growth for the last eight years. It has been one of thefastest growing businesses for Unilever in entire Asia and has developed leading edgeactivation, customer management and general management practices that are beingshowcased and emulated by other Unilever Companies. The following table summarizes theperformance for 2012 and compares it to that of 2011. The growth percentages areprovided:

Year 2010 2011 2012Turnover 22% 21% 35%Total Cost 26% 24% 38%

Gross Profit 15% 17% 29%Total Advertisement &

Promotion20% 4% 7%

Profit before indirect 11% 25% 40%Indirect 9% 40% 1%

Trading results 13% 14% 78%

Trading contribution 8% -19% 82%

After nine consecutive years of double digit sales growth in the period 2003-2011, UBLdelivered a staggering top line growth of 35% in 2012. The turnover for 2012 was BDT16,476 million as opposed to BDT 12,175 million in 2011. Moreover the profitable growthwas delivered as marked by the 53% improvement of Profit before Tax and 62%improvement of Profit after Tax.Unilever Bangladesh Limited had revenue of over Taka 16 billion in 2012, contributing about0.5% to global Unilever revenue. It is among the top five tax payers of BangladeshGovernment. The cash flow growth rate for 2012 was over 50%.The company has been operating at a negative working capital over the last few years.However, while calculating working capital, according to its financial principles, Unileverdoes not take into account cash. The company has no long term outstanding debt. Also, ittries to make the most profit by making selective investments. In 2012, the company had acash cycle of 37.3 days. Average days sales outstanding was 18 days, average inventoryoutstanding 47 days and average day’s receivable outstanding of nearly 23 days.


CSR Activities

UBL believes in being a good corporate citizen and is fully aware of its responsibilitiestoward the society it operates in. Unilever focuses its CSR efforts in areas of Health,Education, Women’s Empowerment, and Disaster Relief.UBL believes in placing theinterest of the society right up in front which is reflected by the widespread CSR activitiesthat the company undertakes.

HEALTH

Pepsodent Dentibus: A mobile dental unit of professional dentists offering free check up and advice continued its operations to various schools and neighborhoods. This program intends to increase the level of awareness in Bangladesh about the need of good and regular oral care, and visiting dentists regularly to help avoid major pain and discomfort. 200,000 contacts per year have been made since its inauguration.

Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital Which aims to bring medical advice to the doorsteps of the underprivileged and water locked people in the chars. This hospital brings essential health care to the water locked population in Bangladesh and provides a platform to talk about a healthy and hygienic lifestyle in areas beyond the reach of traditional media.

Chittagong MaaShishu O General Hospital: Unilever Bangladesh sponsored the setting up of a modern operation facility at the MaaShishu O General Hospital (Mother, child and General hospital) in the Port city of Chittagong. This facility was inaugurated on May 25th, 2004. In this endeavor, UBL has spent 6.5 Million Taka towards modernizing the existing operating theatre and in setting up a new operating theatre together with an advanced Intensive Care unit. This was a much needed upgrade of the hospital which is one of the very few health care facilities in the city with a population of 2.5 million. UBL was actively involved in this project, recognizing the dire need in the region for good health care, and an opportunity to help provide access to world-class surgical facilities through this hospital that caters for less privileged citizens of Chittagong. Having its major manufacturing facilities in Chittagong, Unilever Bangladesh has a long-standing association with Maa Shishu O General Hospital and this initiative will radically enhance the services of the hospital. The MaaShishu O General Hospital was set up in 1979 and is a popular reference in Chittagong for the treatment of mothers and infants. It treats around one and a half lakh patients annually providing Pediatric, Obstetric, Gynecology , Blood Transfusion, Diagnostic services etc. However due to insufficient resources it could


not cater to all the requirements of the patients - despite the executive committee’s best intentions. This is where UBL came in as a sponsor and besides financial help extended personal involvement of UBL managers in ensuring speedy completion of the project. The new OT now has world class surgical equipment including Life support, Anesthesia machinesetc. The involvement of UBL in bringing modern surgical facilities to this hospital did notstop at the OT. With regular assessment, new needs for equipment have led to further investment of another 1.5 million Taka in 2005 as well. UBL is working with the Hospital management to enhance the skills and capabilities of the hospital staff and management as well to be able to provide better health care to the patients. In 2007 again, a 3 month long Nurses’ Training Programme was organized at the Hospital. The programme covered several skill areas and had experts from outside the country help enhance nursing related skills. All these activities helped improve the emergency, critical treatment and recovery facilities for the port city residents and increased the hospital’s ability to do surgery. The company not only sponsors projects at MaaShishu O General Hospital but also actively supports and monitors its improvement. The management quarterly visits the hospital to take patients’ feedback and meet with the administration to review the quality of services and carry out need assessments to enhance the services of the hospital. It is the company’s firm belief that to help bring vitality everywhere, it must first take steps to improve the well-being in the community that it operates in.

Promoting hygiene awareness:

Bangladesh has a population of over 142 million and 80% of this population lives in rural areas. Although there has been a lot of social progress and economic development in these areas since the country’s independence in 1971, there remains a general ignorance about the importance of hygiene. UBL’S 2 health related brand: Lifebuoy and Pepsodent have done significant work on this issue.

Lifebuoy: lifebuoy concentrating on all rural communities has a team of trained

personnel to visit neighborhoods, market places, schools etc and communicate the importance of a healthy lifestyle through flipcharts and leaflets. This is then followed by demonstrating the use of Lifebouy soaps – which have been made available in small packs for people of all income groups.

Pepsodent: The Pepsodent team concentrates on schools across the country and

suburban localities to promote oral hygiene. Initiatives like the Dental Support Program and Dental Health Awareness Week, both of which have been quantum leaps in developing good oral hygiene practices.


The Dental Support Program

Is a mammoth community exercise that encompasses both direct and indirect dissemination of the need and importance of oral hygiene. Not only does a qualified dentist visit schools to educate school children; the Program reaches out to countless others indirectly by training primary and secondary school teachers. Furthermore, Unilever Bangladesh reached out to educate imams at mosques on dental hygiene, so that they can disseminate the message to their congregations. More than 3 million school children have been covered through this Program.

Unilever is committed to continue providing this service to the community. Unilever Bangladesh and Bangladesh Dental Society (BDS) have been working together for over a decade to promote oral health of Bangladeshi people. One of the major activities that is carried out in partnership is the Pepsodent - Bangladesh Dental Society Oral Health Day. In 2007, the day was organized on November 16. People called in for appointment at a stipulated time to have his or her teeth checked by dental professionals. 300 dentists at 257 clinics in 64 districts gave free dental check-up to 12,500 people. Unilever setup temporary dental facilities in districts where there were no clinics available. The Day provided people with an opportunity to be aware of the condition of their teeth and also promoted general awareness of oral hygiene. Together, Lifebouy and Pepsodent have been instrumental in bringing the message of a better lifestyle, free from germs and associated trauma, to millions of people across Bangladesh.

Women’s Empowerment

Fair & Lovely Foundation:

Unilever strongly believes in the importance of empowering women in Bangladesh, because the progress of any society will be constrained if a significant part of its population is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. It is therefore necessary that women be progressively brought into the main stream of economic activities. Unilever believe, with economic and educational empowerment, women can become more vocal about their rights and become stronger in withstanding repression in any form. Keeping this mind and women’s empowerment at the forefront, Fair & Lovely Foundation was set-up as a social initiative by Unilever Bangladesh Limited on 15 June 2004 under its leading skin care brand Fair & Lovely. The mission of the Foundation is to "Encourage economic empowerment of Bangladeshi women through information and resources in the areas of Education, Career and Enterprise.


Education: Even in the twenty-first century, Bangladeshi women’s economic empowerment is looked upon as a luxury. While the economic growth of a country is dependent directly on the level of education of its general population, it will be most unfortunate if a significant part of it is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. It is this realization that has brought about the Fair & Lovely Foundation Scholarship Programme. Any Bangladeshi female student with good academic track record is eligible to apply for these scholarships. This programme aims at providing women with basic and higher education, as well as training and assistance. Supplementary scholarship programs are also ongoing in partnership with the Faria Lara Foundation. After the successful project entitled "UttoroneyNari" in 2003 where 1,500 women students (at standard 10 level) received courses on basic IT from NIIT, in 2004, Fair & Lovely Foundation tailor-made yet another scholarship programme for women seeking higher education.

Career: Education is like a beacon for the right career. It hints at what one is good at. Yet, with so many choices that are available, it is easy to make a wrong decision. This led to the Fair & Lovely Foundation’s Career Guidance Programme. During its inception in 2004, the Fair & Lovely Foundation aired a 13-episode TV series in Channel i. Each episode showcased one particular career… encapsulating detailed information about its prospects, means of undertaking it, and an inspiring success story to instigate interest. Career showcased in the programme were – Law, Banking, Advertising, Defence, Graphic Designing, Engineering, Fashion Designing, Merchandising, IT, Architecture, Journalism, Medicine and Business. The programme received a huge response in terms of viewer enquiries and letters.

Enterprise: Unilever believe that small & medium enterprises are crucial to theeconomic development of a country like Bangladesh. The Fair Lovely Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme was set up to explore the endless possibilities that lie in this sector for women. This Programme assists both urban and rural women byproviding practical knowledge as well as business expertise.

Project Joyeeta: Joyeeta’ is a unique initiative of Unilever Bangladesh to provide sustainable opportunities for over 2900 women in


rural Bangladesh to earn their livelihood. Joyeeta is derived from the Bengali word ‘Joy’ which means ‘Win’. Joyeeta is the embodiment of a fearless female spirit trying to better her socio-economic condition by trying new options given her surroundings and ground realities. In recent times Non Government Organizations (NGO)s and government bodies are collaborating to establish self-help groups for the development of rural women supported by microcredit program. So, Project Joyeeta came out as a realistic venture of Unilever Bangladesh aimed at improving the lives of rural women bringing them into a sustainable income generation through entrepreneurial skills. The project started in August 2003 in a nearby Thana of Manikganj as a pilot for six months. From an initial twenty-five Joyeetas the number has now increased to over two thousand. The women termed as Joyeetas are given a task of selling Unilever products and communicating the brand values in the rural households of their village. Hence with a sizeable margin they would be able to generate sustainable income for themselves and hence be financially empowered. These women (Joyeetas) are serviced from the distributor through a third party agency at a regular interval. The success story of Joyeeta is taken even further with a similar project named “Aparajita” with the support from CARE. Under this project, UBL will be able to expand initiative to reach 20 more Upazillas of the country’s northern and eastern districts.

These Unilever led projects will continue to empower women all over the country.

Education

IT scholarships for women:

Faria Lara Foundation is a voluntary organization working in the remote village of HaltaDawatala in BamnaUpozila, Barguna District, in the south of the country. FAL Foundation came forward to work with this organization to assist semi-urban female students to acquire spoken/written English and basic Computer skills after their SSC Exam


and help them to compete with their urban peers. In April 2005, UBL Chairman Sanjiv Mehta officially handed over a cheque of Taka 5 Lakh and 10 computers to SelinaHossain, Executive Director of the Faria Lara Foundation. Under this project 40 female SSC students from 16 secondary institutions in the district went through a three-month training program on basic computer skills, spoken and written English. The courses were conducted by Certified IT professionals and English language professors. The effectiveness of the course was evaluated by a final exam conducted by Adcomm, UBL’s agency for executing the various projects related to FAL Foundation. In 2007 May, Fair & Lovely Foundation again re-started the programme of providing Supplementary Education programme with Faria Lara Foundation. This program continues in 2008 as well. 20 SSC and 20 HSC Examinees were given the opportunity to train for three months in Borguna District.

School for slum children sponsored (SSKS):

Unilever came forward to support an institution that provides free primary education to children of lowest income families. There exist some institutions that provide education to these hapless children and one such organization is ShatheeSamajKalyanSamity (SSKS), an NGO working for the slum residents in the city’s posh residential area- Banani. Besides entrepreneurial training and other activities, SSKS runs a free evening school for children residing in slums and was funded by an international NGO thus far. Towards the end of 2004, the supporting organization wrapped up its activities from Bangladesh which left SSKS floundering for funds. In January 2005, Unilever Bangladesh initiated the sponsorship of the school' major expenses. The sponsorship helps to cover salaries for the teachers and staff, uniforms and books for the students, and other administrative outflows.Moreover, company managers volunteer to spend time with the children and take innovative learning sessions. These include Origami, Good behavior, Electricity and safety etc. The children eagerly await such visits which inspire their creative thinking and are a break from the everyday school work. Unilever's PepsodentDentibus also visits the school premises to create awareness about good oral hygiene.

UBL volunteers also visits the school to demonstrate the importance of hygiene and health. Pop quizzes through which the children could win Lifebouy soaps, or Pepsodent toothpaste with each correct answer creates a flurry of eager hands to jumping up to answer that makes it a sight to see! The existence of the school is a great support for the children living in Banani, Gulshan, Badda slum areas and UBL provides support for opportunities such as training for teachers and sports lessons for the students. Nurturing the intellect and development of the children coming to this school can help build a strong example of conscientious involvement of the privileged society in support of the needy.

Chevening Scholarships:


Unilever Bangladesh Limited and the British High Commission signed an agreement on 11thSeptember 2006 to jointly fund a Chevening Scholarship titled the “Unilever Chevening Scholarship” for a Bangladeshi national wishing to study in a University in the United Kingdom.

The fields of study included for the Unilever Chevening Scholarship are the areas of Health,Education and Women’s Empowerment.Chevening Scholarships are prestigious scholarshipsawarded by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, aimed at providing opportunities for post-graduate study in the UK for young professionals in early or mid-careers who demonstrate both academic excellence and the potential to become leaders, decision-makers and opinion formers in their own countries.

Disaster Relief

Char Nazir To help the victims of SIDR, UBL partnered with the Bangladesh Army and set out to rebuild one of the worst-affected villages of the calamity, Char Nazir. The ArmyEngineering Corp designed the houses and oversaw the implementation of the projectbased on the plan conceptualized by UBL. The BDT 8 million (80,000 Euro) project includedproviding housing with sanitary latrines for all 75 families, installation of five deep tubewells, rebuilding one retail outlet and providing ten cows and fifteen goats for incomegeneration to the village people. The village was finally completed and formally inauguratedin July of 2008.

unilver bangladesh l

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