Rubbish Check
Independent Business (Press Association) · 28 July 2026
source“Unilever hails best sales in more than a decade ahead of food business spin-off”
R4/ 10
Selective
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Independent's claim that Unilever posted its "best sales in more than a decade" a 4/10 because the superlative applies specifically to Q2 volume growth, while overall reported sales for the half rose just 0.5%, a gap the headline doesn't flag.
The Verdict
Selective. The headline lifts the flattering half of Unilever's own results language almost verbatim from the CEO's quote, but "best sales in more than a decade" is doing double duty for what is actually a decade-best volume quarter, not a decade-best sales half. The body eventually clarifies the numbers and even surfaces the food business's weak spot and a shareholder governance row, so this is an editing/emphasis problem, not a fabrication.
What actually happened
Unilever's underlying sales growth accelerated to 5.8% in Q2, with 5.5% underlying volume growth, which the company and CEO Fernando Fernandez both described as the best volume quarter in over a decade. The results, released alongside a £33.8bn plan to merge its food division with McCormick, prompted Unilever to raise its full-year guidance into the middle of its 4%-6% range and lift volume guidance to around 3%.
Key facts
- Q2 underlying sales growth: 5.8%, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 4.3%.
- Q2 underlying volume growth: 5.5%, the company's best in over a decade.
- H1 underlying sales growth: 4.8%; but overall (reported) H1 sales rose just 0.5%, and pre-tax profit rose 1.8% to €4.66bn.
- Food segment underlying growth was 1.2% in H1, trailing beauty and wellbeing (5.9%), personal care (4.8%) and home products (7.6%), the exact division being spun off.
- Full-year guidance raised: sales growth now expected within the 4%-6% range (previously bottom end); volume guidance raised to ~3% from "at least 2%".
- Shares rose 6% on the day; the £33.8bn McCormick joint venture (announced March) faced shareholder criticism at the AGM for bypassing a shareholder vote.
What to watch for
Watch whether Unilever's reported (not underlying) sales growth catches up to the underlying figure once the food-business disposal and currency effects wash through, that 0.5% overall H1 print is the real base rate. Also watch the McCormick deal's shareholder-vote controversy resurface once separation terms firm up, and whether food's 1.2% growth improves before or after it leaves the group.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
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