Unilever Surpasses Targets in P&G Market Gains

Key Takeaways

Unilever Pakistan is ahead of its internal targets in capturing the market space left by P&G.
The company's Head of Home Care, Ammad Danish, believes competition is beneficial for the market.
Unilever attributes its success to a multi-year turnaround and supply-chain resilience.

Unilever Pakistan has surpassed its internal targets in capturing the market space vacated by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in Pakistan, according to Ammad Danish, the company’s Head of Home Care. P&G announced its decision to discontinue business operations in the country in October 2025 as part of a global restructuring plan.

Danish, an alumnus of the Institute of Business Administration with over twenty years of corporate experience, stated that multiple organised players are now competing for the share left by P&G. 'We are ahead of track, and I think that’s a great place to be in. We will continue that next year,' he said, adding that results so far have exceeded the company’s own expectations.

The opportunity arose at a time when Unilever’s Home Care division, which includes brands like Surf Excel and Vim, was already in the middle of a multi-year turnaround. Danish noted that the unit had gone through a 'lull period' of three to four years without standout performance, but has delivered competitive growth over the past 24 to 36 months.

Unilever attributes its recovery to a restructuring that divided the company into four focused business units and a deliberate shift in philosophy: 'We put the consumer back at the heart, not the P&L,' Danish said. This approach has fed directly into new product launches, including Surf Excel Whites and Surf Excel Liquid, which have strengthened the brand’s position.

Moreover, Unilever’s ability to move quickly was also helped by supply-chain resilience during a period when the Middle East crisis disrupted raw material imports. 'The powder market is heavily dependent on raw materials from the Middle East. All players in Pakistan were impacted. There were local shortages where raw material wasn’t coming in,' Danish shared.

Danish termed P&G’s departure as a wider industry concern rather than a straightforward win for competitors. 'If organised players don’t operate, it’s bad for the government, because there’s a certain amount of taxation income that goes out,' he said, emphasizing the importance of competition for the market and the government.

While Unilever is ahead of its targets, Danish noted that three to four organised players, and not Unilever alone, are competing for the share. 'We all went for the pie that P&G vacated,' he added.

For Unilever, the P&G opportunity landed at a moment when the company was already in the middle of a multi-year turnaround. The executive believes that international competition tends to bring 'fair play' to a market, while local players 'don’t always play by the rules when it comes to taxation, formulation, pricing,' making for a tougher market experience.

I think this is very unfortunate that P&G had to leave. I’m a firm believer in competition; it keeps you on your toes.
Ammad Danish, Head of Home Care, Unilever Pakistan