LESS WASHING AND MORE SCOFFING

PEOPLE working from home are eating more ice cream but washing less, said industry giant Unilever.

Lockdowns in the UK and other countries had led to “lower demand for deodorants, skin care and hair care”, it said.

On the flip side, the Ben & Jerry’s maker saw sales of ice cream leap 26 per cent in the three months to the end of June.

With restaurants closed until recently, Unilever also said demand for eat-at-home products rose, boosting sales of its Knorr soups and stock pots.

The combined impact meant underlying sales dropped just 0.3 per cent during lockdown and by 0.1 per cent over the first six months of 2020. Profits rose four per cent to £3.5billion. The results triggered an 7.3 per cent surge in Unilever’s share price yesterday, adding £9billion to the Marmite-maker’s stock market value. Unilever boss, Scot Alan Jope, said the results “demonstrated the resilience of the business”. The company also confirmed that, after a review of its tea arm, it would keep the operation in India and Indonesia. The division includes PG Tips, Lipton and Brooke Bond. The results come after Unilever said in June it would call time on its dual Anglo-Dutch structure in favour of a single base in London. Russ Mould, investment director at City firm AJ Bell, said: “Business resilience is a sought-after attribute in the current economic climate. Unilever has got the right ingredients.”

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

A SWEDISH firm hopes to reduce the number of people killed or injured by lorries in cities with a revolutionary new design.

A prototype of the Volta electric lorry has the driver sat much lower than in conventional HGVs, with an array of driver assistance systems.

In London, 23 per cent of pedestrian deaths and 58 per cent of cyclist deaths involve a HGV, yet large trucks only account for four per cent of the total road miles driven.