Dubai: Two billion times a day someone somewhere in the world will use a Unilever product. The Anglo-Dutch multinational distributes 400 brands, including Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Lux, Ponds and Comfort in 150 countries.
Despite having to raise its prices in the second quarter to offset higher commodity costs, Unilever expects 75 per cent of its turnover to come from emerging markets by 2020, according to reports.
Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group distributes Unilever products to 3,834 distribution points across Dubai and the northern emirates through its subsidiary, Gurg Lever.
In a country that holds the highest tea consumption per capita, Unilever's tea sales continue to do well. "The second largest contributor to Unilever's revenues are beverages — Lipton came out with a wide range of teas and is number one in terms of tea consumption in the UAE," said Muna Al Gurg, head of retail at Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group.
On the back of this high demand, manufacturing facilities, which were originally located in the UK, were set up in the UAE. Following the construction of Unilever's Lipton factory in Jebel Ali Freezone, the facilities were further expanded to meet the exponential demand.
Local production was boosted from 5,000 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes of tea annually. The factory is now the second largest globally, making one million tea bags per hour,
