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Unilever: why FMCG rivals joined forces on packaging R&D. September 21, 2026 Pablo Costa, Global Head of Packaging, Digital and Transformation at Unilever, on a new sustainability-focused consortium including Mars, Nestlé & PepsiCo On production lines built for plastic film, paper packaging still leaks, tears and does not seal properly. Six competing consumer goods companies have joined forces to form the PaperFlex Consortium, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The consortium builds on an earlier 2026 report by the Foundation on paper-based flexibles, endorsed by 48 businesses, NGOs, investors and academics. That report set out six design criteria, including recyclability, biodegradability and responsible sourcing, that will guide the consortium's work. Allison Lin, Global VP of Healthy Planet and Chief Circularity Officer at Mars, says that the consortium "challenges the traditional mindset of innovating on our own". The PaperFlex Consortium founding members are: * Colgate-Palmolive * Mars * Nestlé * PepsiCo * Procter & Gamble * Unilever The potential of paper packaging. Pablo Costa, Global Head of Packaging, Digital and Transformation at Unilever, tells Manufacturing Digital that paper is the only packaging material that is both widely recyclable and compostable, though it is not automatically the right fit for every product. "Engineering paper to perform like plastic is one of the most complex material science challenges facing packaging R&D today," he explains. "The challenge is that paper packaging on its own has relatively low barrier properties, can tear during industrial production and does not naturally provide the sealing performance that we need for our products." Sachets, wrappers and pouches are the fastest-growing category of flexible plastic packaging worldwide, and scaled recycling solutions for them remain scarce, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Small-format flexible plastic is named as one of three systemic barriers to tackling plastic waste in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business. The paper packaging challenge. Unilever, for example, sells more than 400 products, each with different technical requirements. Food products often need grease barriers, while items like shampoo and laundry detergent need packaging that can provide robust sealing and liquid protection. Engineering paper to perform like plastic is one of the most complex material science challenges facing packaging R&D today Pablo Costa, Global Head of Packaging, Digital and Transformation at Unilever Unilever already has paper-based products on shelves, Pablo says, including recyclable wrappers for Knorr stock cubes in the UK and Cup-a-Soup pouches in Europe. These early launches help the company adapt its supply chains, manufacturing lines and materials ahead of broader adoption, he explains. Why competitors chose to collaborate. The consortium's six design criteria are intended to stop that promise turning into overclaiming, guarding against solutions that shift one problem onto another. Frank Gana, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of (RE)SET, said the organisation's track record running research and development consortia shows they can speed up the path to solutions. Sander Defruyt, Strategy Lead for Plastics at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says: "Responsible paper-based flexible packaging solutions don't yet exist at the performance, scale and cost required." Gilles Demaurex, Head of Global Packaging Development at Nestlé, says that paper-based packaging can help address virgin plastic reduction if it is scaled responsibly. "This is about enabling a responsible transition," Pablo says. "Paper on its own is not enough, and it is not automatically the right solution for every application. The job to be done is identifying where paper-based alternatives can deliver the required performance, scale and environmental outcomes, and accelerating those solutions through collaboration." Key companies. * CEO: Noel Wallace * Headquarters: New York, US One of six founding members of the PaperFlex Consortium, Colgate-Palmolive is a 200-year-old household and personal-care group behind brands including Colgate, Palmolive and Hill's Pet Nutrition. The New York-headquartered company has its own recyclable-packaging commitments already underway, giving it direct R&D stakes in the consortium's push to make paper-based sachets and wrappers viable at scale. * CEO: Poul Weihrauch * Headquarters: Virginia, US Mars is a privately held, family-owned confectionery, pet-care and food group whose snack brands depend heavily on flexible sachet and wrapper formats. Represented in the consortium by Global VP of Healthy Planet and Chief Circularity Officer Allison Lin, Mars frames the collaboration as a break from siloed innovation, pooling R&D across rivals to solve shared material-science barriers faster. * CEO: Philipp Navratil * Headquarters: Vevey, Switzerland The world's largest food and beverage company, Nestlé is headquartered in Vevey and spans everything from bottled water to confectionery and pet food. Represented by Gilles Demaurex, Head of Global Packaging Development, Nestlé argues paper-based packaging can meaningfully cut virgin plastic use across its extensive sachet and pouch lines if the transition is scaled and designed responsibly. * CEO: Ramon Laguarta * Headquarters: New York, US PepsiCo's snack and beverage portfolio relies heavily on flexible plastic film, wrappers and pouches, making small-format packaging a material R&D priority. As a founding PaperFlex member, the New York-headquartered company joins five FMCG rivals to share testing and scale-up costs on paper-based alternatives, tackling barrier and sealing performance gaps that no single manufacturer has cracked alone. * CEO: Shailesh Jejurikar * Headquarters: Ohio US P&G, headquartered in Cincinnati, is one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, spanning beauty, grooming, health and home-care brands under names like Tide, Gillette and Pantene. As a PaperFlex founding member, P&G lends its packaging R&D scale to developing paper-based flexible formats that can match plastic's barrier properties across household and personal-care product lines. * CEO: Fernando Fernandez * Headquarters: London, UK Unilever is the consortium's convening FMCG voice in this piece, represented by Pablo Costa, Global Head of Packaging, Digital and Transformation. The London-headquartered group sells more than 400 products across food, home care and personal care, and already has paper-based packaging live on shelves - including recyclable Knorr stock cube wrappers in the UK and Cup-a-Soup pouches in Europe - making it a natural test bed for the consortium's work. * CEO: Jonquil Hackenberg * Headquarters: Isle of Wight, UK The UK charity that convened the PaperFlex Consortium, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation also authored the earlier 2026 report on paper-based flexibles that shaped its six design criteria, a report endorsed by 48 businesses, NGOs, investors and academics. Strategy Lead for Plastics Sander Defruyt says responsible paper-based solutions don't yet exist at the performance, scale and cost the industry needs. * CEO: Frank Gana * Headquarters: Paris, France (RE)SET is a Paris-based strategy consultancy specialising in environmental and economic transition, founded in 2019 and merged with Julhiet Sterwen in 2024. Represented in the PaperFlex Consortium by Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Frank Gana, the firm brings a track record running research and development consortia - experience its leadership argues can speed up the path to viable, scaled paper-based packaging solutions across the six founding members' supply chains. Executives. * Allison Lin Global VP of Healthy Planet and Chief Circularity Officer * Frank Gana CEO * Pablo Costa Vice President Packaging Unilever * Sander Defruyt Strategy Lead, Plastics Company portals.

Same but different: Why have more than one name for your international brand. Looking around the supermarket on holiday, have you ever come across a brand that looks familiar, but there's something a little off? Be it the logo or the typeface, the product uses the same visual elements across the globe, only one thing has changed: the name. International brands adapt their naming for individual national markets more often than you would think. Its mission as an international naming agency has always been to create brand identities that span diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. At times this involves the development of an international naming strategy with several names for a variety of reasons and objectives. Preserving existing brand reputations in local markets rather than forcing international integration. Take the example of Miko, the known and loved ice cream brand first developed in 1920s France. Today, the iconic red heart logo is accompanied by a multitude of names across regional markets. Frigo in Spain, Algida in Italy, Langnese in Germany, and Wall's in the UK; why would any brand want to have so many identities? The answer comes from a history of acquisition. As a global leader in consumer goods, Unilever is responsible for the purchase of many of the world's most well-known ice cream businesses, including Miko in 1994. Rather than grouping their brands under a single new name, they opted to preserve the strong reputation of each local brand, building on the loyalty that already existed within each regional market. This meant that the products marketed as Wall's to the British and Miko to the French since the 1920s would remain immediately recognisable. A completely new name would mean building its identity from scratch and incurring the cost to remarket this unknown brand. In the case of Miko and Unilever, the use of several different names was clearly the strongest strategy. Prioritizing cultural sensitivity by tailoring new brand identities to break into specific regional markets. In some cases, multinational companies make the conscious decision to develop new brand identities for each local market when pursuing international expansion. Australian personal care brand Rexona was created in 1908 before being acquired by Unilever and expanding progressively to become a leading name in deodorant today. When internationalising, Sure was the name chosen for the UK market to convey a clear message of reliability, lending itself to the creation of catchy slogans such as "Raise your hand if you're Sure". This works well for an English-speaking audience, but the name does not transfer well linguistically to other European audiences. The word "sure" could be pronounced in a multitude of ways in different European languages, making the use of the original name Rexona much more appropriate. However, when it came to the US market, Unilever had to be sensitive to existing brands and trademarks. Although the brand Sure would have been a good cultural and linguistic fit, the presence of an unrelated Sure antiperspirant brand blocked the use. This led to the creation of the company's third name: Degree. Some choices focus on linguistic sensitivity. Launched in the United States in 1958, cleaning product company Mr Clean created a character to embody their brand identity. The iconic buzz cut, white t-shirt and arms firmly crossed remain unmissable, but this man is known by many names, whether that's Monsieur Propre in France, Meister Proper in Germany, or Don Limpio in Spain. Procter & Gamble, the American owner of Mr Clean, settled on directly translating the name into the native languages of target regional markets around the world. A strong strategy, especially when a brand has a clear visual identity already. The character of Mr Clean allows for the brand to be internationally recognised, even under all its different local names. By keeping the word "clean" translated in every name, the use of the product is clearly communicated around the world. Its international approach at Nomen. In 2022, French audio storytelling company Lunii approached its naming agency with the ambition to launch in Spain. Needing help with a new name to adapt the brand to the language and culture, the focus was on maintaining their values of imagination and curiosity while drawing on its linguistic expertise. Representing their adventure into new international territory, Stelii was born. Validated by its international network of linguists, the name Stelii retains an identical ending using two "i"s, not only to link the two names, but also to refer to the core values of imagination and inventiveness. Adapting a name to fit the culture and language of the target regional market to have the strongest impact or preserving the existing reputation of a successful brand; the lesson here is that consistency is not always key. Whether you are an established brand or a start-up looking to grow in new markets, Nomen is your naming agency to partner with for international development.

Unilever also sells baby care brand Zwitsal. Unilever is selling baby care brand Zwitsal to Dutch company Royal Sanders. The producer of, among others, Van Gils and Odorex will take over the brand at the beginning of next year. Specialist in care. The sale fits into the ongoing simplification of Unilever's brand portfolio. In recent years, the group has already parted ways with, among others, De Vegetarische Slager, Unox, Conimex and Becel. The ice cream business with brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry's was also spun off. Zwitsal, known for its baby care products in yellow packaging, is now also disappearing from Unilever's portfolio. According to the group, the sale fits its ambition to become "a simpler and more focused company." Buyer Royal Sanders from Vlijmen specializes entirely in personal care. In addition to Melkmeisje, Van Gils and Odorex, the company also has brands such as Sanicur, Fresh Up and ProSet in its portfolio. The parties expect to complete the transaction at the beginning of 2027. How much Royal Sanders is paying for Zwitsal is unknown.