Henkel vs Unilever

Henkel celebrates 150 years with employees around the world

Henkel marks its 150th anniversary on September 26, 2026. Anniversary events for employees take place around the world. Around 18,000 guests expected at an employee festival at the headquarters in Germany. Additional day of vacation for all employees and attractive benefits through Henkel’s employee share program. Henkel expands its global “Researchers’ World” education initiative and plans additional STEM learning opportunities.

AI Helps Henkel Manage Creator Commerce at Scale

During a Brandweek 2026 panel co-hosted with TikTok, marketing leaders from Henkel and Boost Engine discussed how AI and agentic workflows are helping brands manage creator-led commerce at scale. Henkel's Pravana brand generated around 60,000 pieces of content this year, far exceeding traditional production volumes. Boost Engine uses AI for creator discovery, content analysis, and compliance review, augmenting human capabilities. Henkel is exploring TikTok-first launches and seeing success with TikTok Shop, which also appears to drive incremental sales across other channels. The panel highlighted a shift from manual reporting to strategic decision-making, as AI automates repetitive tasks.

• Henkel's Pravana brand generated ~60,000 content pieces this year vs 300-400 traditionally.
• Boost Engine uses AI and agentic workflows for creator discovery, outreach, and compliance.
• Henkel is exploring TikTok-first launches for new products.

Henkel showcases solutions at ALUMINIUM 2026 and SICAM

Henkel Adhesive Technologies will showcase resource-efficient pretreatment and finishing solutions at ALUMINIUM 2026, and new adhesive solutions for furniture and component manufacturers at SICAM.

Gravity Global Founders Aim for Billion-Dollar Agency

Gravity Global, led by founder Mark Lethbridge and CEO Jose Lozano, aims to become a billion-dollar agency while avoiding traditional holding-company structures. The article profiles their journey, from Lethbridge's early B2B agency in 1989 to merging with Lozano's Ninth Wonder to form Gravity Global. Their model emphasizes 'one flag, one P&L' to foster collaboration without internal friction. They focus on 'complex markets' including B2B, financial services, healthcare, and government. With hundreds of employees globally, they invest in technology and AI while maintaining entrepreneurial agility. Lozano's ambition is to reach $1 billion in revenue without becoming a conglomerate. The article also touches on personal stories, including the loss of Lethbridge's son Joe, which shaped the agency's culture around 'knowing what good looks like'.

• Gravity Global aims to become a billion-dollar agency without becoming a conglomerate.
• Mark Lethbridge and Jose Lozano merged their agencies to form Gravity Global, focusing on B2B and complex markets.
• The agency operates with a 'one flag, one P&L' model to avoid internal friction.

Unilever Sees Beauty and Wellness Convergence

At the Groceryshop conference in Las Vegas, Unilever Wellbeing CEO Jostein Solheim discussed the blurring line between beauty and wellness. He highlighted a consumer shift from appearance-focused routines to holistic, science-backed health and beauty integration, driven by digital data access, GLP-1 drugs, and AI-assisted health insights. Unilever's portfolio now includes wellness brands like Olly, Liquid I.V., Nutrafol, and Grüns, which address preventative health and longevity. Solheim emphasized the importance of engaging younger generations like Gen Z and millennials early in their wellness journey. The company's 2019 acquisition of Olly marked its entry into the supplement space, and its recent acquisition of Grüns underscores its commitment to this convergence. This strategic focus aims to build deeper consumer relationships through personalized health solutions.

• Unilever Wellbeing CEO Jostein Solheim spoke at Groceryshop in Las Vegas about beauty and wellness convergence.
• Unilever acquired vitamin brand Olly in 2019 to enter the supplement market.
• Unilever Wellbeing owns seven wellness brands, including Olly, Liquid I.V., Nutrafol, and Grüns.

Unilever's Al Hajji: Attention is Hard to Earn, Easy to Lose

At The Drum Live, Unilever's Chief Growth and Transformation Officer for Personal Care, Rani Al Hajji, discussed the company's 2026 World Cup sponsorship. He emphasized that attention is now extremely difficult to earn and easy to lose, making relevance crucial. Unilever activated 35 brands across 120 markets, using a 'poetry and plumbing' approach: creative brand ideas supported by a system of creators, content, data, and commerce. Brands like Dove, Sure, and Lynx developed distinct roles, with physical hubs (House of Fresh) in major cities to engage creators and consumers. Al Hajji stressed the importance of selecting creators for community fit over reach, and the need to integrate commerce to turn attention into demand. He acknowledged that results are not yet official but sees potential for a repeatable demand generation system.

• Unilever activated 35 brands across 120 markets for the 2026 World Cup.
• The company created physical hubs called 'House of Fresh' in New York, Miami, and Mexico City.
• Dove, Sure, and Lynx each had distinct brand activations during the tournament.