Growth is the outcome of choices, of vision, and of the relationships an organisation builds with those who stand alongside it. For us at Unilever, these relationships are central to how we operate, innovate, and lead. This philosophy finds its clearest expression in Partner to Win (PTW), our global partnership program that has redefined the way we work with our partners.
From transactions to trust
When PTW was first introduced in 2011, it marked a decisive shift away from transactional procurement towards something deeper: strategic, long-term partnerships built on innovation, mutual growth, and shared responsibility. PTW evolved to embed our four sustainability pillars — Climate, Nature, Plastics, and Livelihoods into every collaboration.
Today, PTW is aligned with our business strategy bringing together three priorities: faster growth, greater productivity, and a stronger performance culture — while maintaining sustainability as its constant foundation.
The Partner to Win Summit in India
Our recent PTW Summit 2025 held in Mumbai was a showcase of what HUL partnerships look like when they are directed towards shared ambition. Breakthrough innovations in packaging, efficiency models that reduce cost and waste, and digital solutions that accelerate speed to market all stood on display as promises for the future and as evidence of work already underway.
The Summit also reflected how PTW is lived in practice: as a platform for collaboration where partners of every size (start-ups, SMEs, and global players) contribute ideas that scale across categories. India is a country of 'many Indias', each with its own economic, cultural, and consumer realities. Meeting these needs requires both reach and intimacy, something only possible through a network of diverse partners who bring their expertise to the table.
Powering our business strategy
Through PTW, partnerships become the architecture behind our business strategy.
- Faster growth comes from sharper execution on Power Brands, backed by the innovation pipeline co-created with suppliers.
- Productivity and simplicity come from collaboration that strips away waste, strengthens frontline roles, and delivers efficiencies that could not be achieved alone.
- Performance culture grows from shared goals, trust, and the exchange of knowledge and best practices between HUL and its partners.
- By doubling down on sustainability, we co-develop solutions that reduce waste, cut carbon, and deliver packaging innovations from recyclable formats to new materials that respond to both environmental imperatives and consumer expectations.
Every partner, whether developing a breakthrough material, co-designing a supply chain model, or building a digital tool, adds to this performance edge.
A shared future
There is no single story of PTW, because its impact is not limited to a single initiative. It is visible in the sustainable packaging co-developed with suppliers, in the livelihoods sustained through local sourcing, in the innovations that make our brands more relevant for consumers across diverse clusters of India.
Partnership, for us, is not an adjunct to business; it is the way our business is built. It’s about aligning ambition with responsibility, powering our strategy, and preparing for the next chapter of growth.
As we look ahead, PTW ensures that we grow with our partners, and that in turn, we all move forward together.