UNILEVER Philippines is planning to expand its food product portfolio to support the evolving needs of its customers in the Philippines, a company official said.
The company plans to bring some of its products, available in other markets, to the Philippines, Unilever Philippines Nutrition Business Unit Lead Marinel M. Villanueva said on the sidelines of a media briefing on Thursday.
“Our portfolio in the Philippines under the Knorr brand is actually extensive… But there are plans to look at new food formats and products,” she said.
“Maybe in the next two to three years, you’ll see some new items, especially other scratch cooking aids and complex cooking aids,” Ms. Villanueva said.
The products that the company is targeting to bring to the Philippines include those in liquid format, such as cooking sauces, she noted.
“We are also looking at making it more convenient for consumers. So, a (product) that can provide almost a full meal, like a mini meal, but is prepared in a more convenient way for our consumers that are more on the go.”
Unilever’s food portfolio includes Lady’s Choice and Knorr products such as bouillon cubes, liquid seasoning, recipe mixes, sinigang mixes, and sandwich spreads.
“But of course our business, a big bulk of it, will still be in the bouillon cubes as well as sinigang mix,” Ms. Villanueva said.
She also said that the company’s plant in Cavite has enough capacity for the planned new products.
“We do have capacity and capability to do that locally, but we also have the benefit of looking at the total Knorr global portfolios, so we do have access to those and can bring them in.”
Unilever’s market share in the seasonings category is more than half, said Ms. Villanueva, with Knorr sinigang mixes accounting for 85% and Knorr bouillon cubes accounting for more than half.
Unilever and Knorr target reaching 15 million Filipinos by 2030 under their programs called Knorr Nutri-Sarap and Makulay ang Buhay, meant to fight undernutrition in the country. The latest record shows they have already reached 12.5 million Filipinos.
“As one of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world, with one of the largest nutrition portfolios, Unilever strives to create a meaningful impact on people and the planet,” Unilever said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
