Deodorant sales surge as workers return to the office

The need for proper hygiene for workers returning to the office after pandemic lockdowns has led to the sweet smell of success for deodorant makers.

Unilever, the multinational products maker whose portfolio of brands includes Dove, Rexona, and Impulse, reported a 15% increase in the sales of deodorant in its most recent earnings report.

“Many people didn’t use deodorant as much when they were in lockdown and working from home and some recovery in that is coming through,” Graeme Pitkethly, the company’s finance director, told the Guardian.

Procter & Gamble, the maker of Old Spice and Secret brands of deodorant, reported a 9% increase in sales of grooming products and a 5% increase in beauty products in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.

The company reported $21.9 billion in net sales in the first quarter — a 6% increase from the same period last year.

According to recent data from Gallup, around 52% of US workers who are capable of performing their jobs remotely are operating under a hybrid model while 29% are exclusively remote.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020, 70% of remote-capable employees were working from home while just 18% were operating on a hybrid schedule.

Before the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, less than one in 10 workers were hybrid.

Tech companies that were among the first to embrace remote work during lockdowns have now compelled their employees to return to the office for at least three days a week.

Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have also communicated their preference for workers to be on-site in the office.

The gradual return to office has coincided with booming sales for deodorants, which are now among the fastest-growing self-care products in the industry, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Unilever told The Journal that its US consumers use two different kinds of deodorants a week on average.

“You wake up, brush your teeth, and put deodorant on,” Esi Eggleston, president of Unilever’s US operations, told The Journal.

“It’s your first boost of confidence.”