Health, hygiene and beauty

The desire to be clean and healthy and to look good is universal. Our home and personal care brands have promoted health, hygiene and beauty since the late 19th century and continue to play a vital role in millions of homes around the world today.

In 2007 our household cleaning business had a particularly successful year, with brands such as Cif and Domestos helping it grow by 9%. From simple soap bars to the most technically advanced concentrated liquids, our laundry brands are also growing fast.

In skin care, the Pond's brand went from strength to strength in South East Asia, China and India, powered in part by the launch of a new anti-ageing range. Vaseline was our fastest-growing global skin brand, with underlying sales growth of more than 8%. Vaseline Cocoa Butter range was its most successful launch in the US in ten years. The brand also announced the Vaseline Skin Fund, which is expected to launch in the UK and the US in 2008 – and give 1 million people better access to information about managing skin complaints.

Our deodorant brands also made good progress in 2007, with Axe and Rexona both achieving double-digit growth. Rexona is the world's leading deodorant brand and Axe holds a leading position in male deodorants.

Oral Care returned to growth in Europe while continuing its robust performance in Indonesia, China and Africa – aided by innovations such as a combined toothpaste and mouthwash. During the year we announced the extension of our partnership with the FDI World Dental Federation, which represents more than 1 million dentists and we work together with the FDI in oral health promotion and education programmes.