Unilever Taps Amazon Exec To Lead Beauty Business

To lead its personal care and beauty businesses as it homes in on digital, Unilever tapped an executive who is currently working at Amazon. Sunny Jain, the head of consumables for the eCommerce retailer, will start his position in June and take the place of Alan Jope, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Jain was responsible for offerings such as beauty and personal care at Amazon, where he arrived in 2014 after working at Procter & Gamble for 16 years. While at P&G, the executive worked in marketing, business creation, information technology and sales. Jope was recently promoted to the role of chief executive at Unilever.

Unilever has focused on beauty lines and personal care offerings, which are high in growth. In 2018, the company’s personal care and beauty division comprised 41 percent of group sales. The company also purchased Schmidt’s Naturals, a deodorant company, and invested in Equilibra, a maker of face creams. The company also has an in-house digital marketing studio and has created digital hubs for data-fueled campaigns.

The news comes as Amazon has also homed in on health and beauty products. The company unveiled its Belei line of skincare products, which come in post-consumer recycled resin bottles. The collection, which offers items such as retinol moisturizer and vitamin C serums, includes 12 different items. Products include a charcoal balancing mask along with micellar facial wipes and a blemish-control spot treatment.

Amazon’s Head of Beauty for Private Brands Kara Trousdale said in the announcement, “Our goal is to help customers spend less time and money searching for the right skincare solutions. We took a simple, no-nonsense approach when creating Belei, developing products with ingredients that are both proven to deliver results and also offer customers great value for the quality.”