Unilever Ventures

Unilever Ventures is the venture and growth capital arm of Unilever, the consumer goods group. It was formed in 2002 and is fully backed by Unilever, and it now operates from offices in London and Mumbai. The unit says that for over twenty years it has helped build strong brands and businesses, combining the global reach of Unilever with the agility of a skilled venture capital team, and it describes its mission as supporting forward-thinking founders crafting brands for the modern consumer.

Unilever Ventures is stage agnostic, covering seed through Series C/D with investments from $500,000 to $15 million. It invests across three areas: beauty and wellness brands, commerce and enabling technologies, and B2B and enterprise technologies, and it also lists partner fund commitments as a portfolio category. Holdings featured on its website include skincare brands True Botanicals, Frank Body and The Inkey List, hair wellness brand Nutrafol, meal kit company Gousto and grocery delivery platform Instacart. Its exited investments include advertising technology companies Celtra and Blis, e-commerce analytics company Clavis Insight and beauty brands such as BYBI, Arata and Beauty Bakerie.

The unit's positioning rests on access to Unilever's brand-building, distribution and retail relationships for consumer founders, while the enterprise and commerce strategy targets technologies that a consumer goods company itself would buy, such as digital shelf analytics and advertising technology. The Mumbai office, led by a partner for Asia, gives the unit direct coverage of the Indian consumer and commerce market alongside its London base, and the unit also backs commerce platforms whose growth can benefit Unilever's own brands.