Sunsilk - Unilever Pakistan History

Sunsilk

Brand Description

Introduction

Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever group. Sunsilk is Unilever's leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate's "billion dollar brands". Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide.

Unilever Pakistan History

By far the largest consumer products company in Pakistan, UPL is a part of the consumer products giant Unilever.

UPL was established some fifty years ago in the then newly created Pakistan. The town of Rahim Yar Khan was the site chosen for setting up a vegetable oil factory in 1958 and that is where the first UPL manufacturing facility developed.

Today, Unilever Pakistan is a force to reckon with. Its contribution to Pakistan's economic development cannot be overestimated. Now operating six factories at different locations around the country, the company contributes a significant proportion of the country's taxes. It employs a large number of local managers and workers. It provides a pool of well-trained and highly motivated manpower to other segments and has introduced new and innovative technologies into the country.

The UPL Head Office was shifted to Karachi from the Rahim Yar Khan site in the mid 60's.

Product History

Sunsilk was launched in the UK in 1954, and by 1959 it was available in 18 different countries worldwide. At the time, Sunsilk had an advantage over other shampoos in the market as it only needed one application, and so meant washing less natural oils from the hair. Sunsilk cream shampoo for dry hair was launched in 1956.

In 1958, a new transparent polythene tube for the liquid shampoo was introduced as an alternative large size pack to the bottle. Sunsilk was also available in such tubes.

In 1960, Sunsilk Tonic shampoo was launched, containing skin healing ingredient Allantoin - designed to help keep the scalp free from infection.

In 1961, Sunsilk Liquid shampoo was re-launched to Sunsilk Beauty, because 'Liquid' in the name, originally used to distinguish the product from powdered shampoos had become meaningless as the majority of shampoos were now in liquid form.

In 1962, Sunsilk was marketed as a range of shampoos for different hair types.

Sunsilk significantly improved product formula and launched new variants in 1966: the first major shampoo to contain olive oil, which acted as conditioner to make hair soft and manageable; shampoo for dull hair, which restored hair's natural shine; lemon shampoo for greasy hair with deep cleansing ingredients.

Sunsilk hair spray was first launched in 1964 to enter an expanding hair-spray market, but in 1966 a new product formula was developed which gave hold, even in damp weather whilst still caring for hair. The hair spray contained a French perfume and could easily be removed by brushing or shampooing it out.

In 1969, all Sunsilk shampoo was re-packaged in new PVC bottles, which were larger than traditional glass bottles for the same price.

Sunsilk conditioner was launched in 1971 with three variants for dry, normal and greasy hair. In 1973, Sunsilk launched an aerosol dispensed setting lotion. An economy size shampoo bottle was introduced for Sunsilk in 1974.

In 1975, Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care with 1,000,000 packs being sold every week.

In 1980, the whole Sunsilk range was re-launched, with improved formulations and packaging design to bring the brand into the 1980s.

In 1985, Sunsilk styling mousse was launched and 2 years later a conditioning mousse followed.

In 2001, Sunsilk moved into the hair colourant market for Asian-type dark hair, offering a range