“At some point, can we see Wild being part of a larger organisation and helping to drive change and to be at the forefront of that?” Wild co-founder Freddy Ward confided with me in August 2023. ”Yeah, definitely. I think that’s the logical step for successful consumer brands.”
And it looks like that will happen perhaps sooner than he might have imagined. Personal care challenger Wild is reportedly about to sign a £230m deal with fmcg behemoth Unilever.
“Unilever has agreed the terms of a transaction to acquire Wild from its founders and early-stage investors,” Sky News revealed on Monday. “A deal could be announced within weeks.”
So what’s the appeal?
Wild and (plastic-)free
For the personal hygiene category, the rise of Wild has been an important and exciting story. Some might ask, however, why Unilever would want yet another deodorant brand. After all, it already owns the UK’s top three: Sure, Lynx and Dove – worth a combined £396.4m in grocery [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024]. That’s more than half of the total deodorant market’s value.
But Wild brings something new to the table. Unilever’s powerhouse trio is about efficacy, fragrance and skincare. Wild, on the other hand, has sustainability at its heart. Its natural deodorants are plastic-free and refillable. The stick refills are biodegradable. Plus, everything is stylishly packaged, proving being green can also be beautiful.
That’s a potent combination for Wild, which made its debut in summer 2019 as a DTC player, the brainchild of Ward and his good buddy Charlie Bowes-Lyon. By 31 December 2023, the brand had bagged a Grocer Gold Award and seen its global turnover leap 77.6% year on year to £46.9m. And operating profit was a tidy £600k, its most recently filed accounts show, putting the brand into the black for the first time.
Nine months later, value sales of Wild deodorants in UK grocery had more than doubled to £14.9m on volumes up 123.1% [NIQ].
That’s the sort of performance that would turn the head of any acquisitive rival – but particularly Unilever, which in many aspects of its operations shares Wild’s vision of a cleaner planet.
Premium ’pits
The two companies also share a desire to premiumise the deodorant market. For a Wild case with stick, that means a £12 price tag – significantly higher than any of Unilever’s current lines.
The Anglo-Dutch giant has meanwhile been working hard to add value to its portfolio. For the past few years, it’s been rolling out posher sprays, sticks and roll-ons. Most recently, that’s seen a 12-strong lineup for use on the whole body and an extension of the Lynx Fine Fragrance Collection.
Amid these launches, the addition of Wild’s premium offer feels like a good fit. And the fact that it has DTC chops and also makes a refillable handwash and bodywash will only help Unilever to dominate British bathrooms.
Of course, the acquisition is yet to be confirmed; both parties are remaining close-lipped. And it remains to be seen as to whether Unilever’s market share in deodorant would be a sticking point. But its vastly different proposition and its higher price point means it’s surely unlikely to warrant investigation by the Competition & Markets Authority – not least given the CMA has been briefed to promote growth.
And Unilever, with its global reach could certainly deliver growth. Who wouldn’t go Wild for a deal like that?
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