Unilever introduces new corporate brand

Unilever’s new mission is to add vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

The mission forms an integral part of Unilever 2010 strategy and the new Unilever brand, building on the traditional strengths of the Unilever name is an expression of that Vitality mission. The new Unilever brand will start to appear on packs from July 1 and it is expected that the use of the logo everywhere will be complete by 2005, the year in which Unilever celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Unilever is dedicated to building great brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life and indeed, many Unilever brands already deliver on this promise.

The world we operate in is changing. Consumers are demanding more and more from the companies behind the brands, increasingly bringing their views as citizens into their buying decisions. They want brands they can trust. Unilever has always had high standards of corporate governance, product quality, and has a long history of working with communities and the environment. Standing visibly as Unilever behind our products will enable us to take the next step in transparency and accountability.

Antony Burgmans and Niall FitzGerald, the chairmen of Unilever said: "The new Unilever brand is a powerful symbol of our new Vitality mission, demonstrating that we stand accountable for the difference we make on a daily basis to our consumers, our employees and the communities and environment in and around which we operate.

"The current logo has been reliable and distinguished - and we don’t want to lose those characteristics - but not as open and friendly as it could be, not enough to enable us to put it onto the packs of everything we make. That requires it to speak of Vitality, so it will change.

"Our new Vitality mission will be key to how we shape our portfolio and set priorities for the business going forward and we will bring Vitality to life by meeting increasing consumer demands for a healthy lifestyle, convenience and indulgence through nutrition, hygiene and personal care products.

"Our mission is full of promise for the future, opening up exciting opportunities where we have competitive advantage for developing our business in the future and our new logo will help us confidently identify ourselves in every aspect of our business."

The new logo tells the story of Unilever and vitality. It brings together 25 different icons representing Unilever and its brands, the idea of vitality and the benefits we bring to consumers and the world we operate in.

For example:

• The Sun is our primary natural resource. All life begins with the sun — the ultimate symbol of vitality
• The Heart represents love, care and health — feeling good
• The Shirt represents fresh laundry — looking good

• A Bird is a symbol of freedom. Relief from daily chores — getting more out of life