Dive Brief:

• Unilever is acquiring men’s personal care brand Dr. Squatch from private equity firm Summit Partners, according to a press release. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
• The deal is part of the CPG giant’s efforts to align its portfolio around premium and high-growth verticals. Unilever praised Dr. Squatch’s “built-in-culture” brand, which has been established through viral social media marketing and partnerships with influencers and celebrities like Sydney Sweeney.   
• Unilever is broadly ramping up its spending on social media and influencers to reach different global markets and consumer groups. Snapping up Dr. Squatch also sees the company return to direct-to-consumer (DTC) acquisitions, a strategy that has not always panned out.  

Dive Insight:

Unilever is dipping back into the DTC well with the acquisition of a brand that has successfully captured the attention of a desirable cohort of Gen Z men (and previously been cited by the Dove and Hellmann’s owner as a rising competitive threat). Founded in 2013, Dr. Squatch sells a line of grooming products, including soaps, lotions and shampoos, that boast natural ingredients and are available through e-commerce, national retailers like Walmart and subscription bundles. 

The DTC aspect of the business gives Unilever more first-party data to work with at a time when refining personalization and targeting are of pressing importance for marketers. Dr. Squatch has also proved savvy with social media-first marketing, another priority for Unilever. The company’s new CEO Fernando Fernandez plans to allocate half of Unilever’s advertising spend to social while significantly expanding its brands’ work with influencers.  

Dr. Squatch has become well known for a particularly bro-friendly bent, with ads packed with sexual innuendo and recognizable stars. A viral campaign launched last year features Sydney Sweeney as a “Body Wash Genie” who responds to men’s desires (for natural grooming products, of course). The two recently partnered to sell limited-edition soap containing some of the “Euphoria” actor’s bathwater in a stunt indicative of Dr. Squatch’s go-for-broke approach.

In a statement around the acquisition, Unilever personal care president Fabian Garcia called out the upstart’s “clever digital engagement strategies” and teed up an expansion beyond its home market. 

“Building on its success in the U.S., we are excited to scale the brand internationally and complement our offering in the fast-growing men’s personal care segment,” said Garcia.

Unilever has been busy restructuring, with the goal of shedding low-performing units and reorienting around premium verticals. It has previously used acquisitions as a way to modernize, with mixed results.

In 2016, the company purchased Dollar Shave Club, an innovator in subscription-based shaving, for $1 billion, one of the biggest bets legacy CPGs had made on the DTC model at that point. Unilever sold a majority stake in the razor brand in 2023 to private equity.