Unilever faces changes in consumer behaviour

Butter is becoming more popular as consumers return to its taste and its natural ingredients. McDonald's, for instance, has experienced higher demand for its Egg McMuffin sandwich since switching from margerine to butter last year.

And this is only one of the changes in consumer behaviour that are challenging Unilever, which markets such spreads as I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Stork and Flora.

Recent financial results show spreads lagging in revenue growth. Yet the company, which was created early in the 20th century by combining the soaps of Britain's Lever Brothers with the spreads of Dutch margarine maker Margarine Unie, isn't ready to simply sell the spreads division. With consumer behaviour changes in mind, it is putting new marketing efforts behind new products in its existing range, such as Stork with Butter.

Being a global corporation, Unilever has 400+ brands in markets on every continent. And it recently arranged to begin marketing again in Cuba, after an absence of several years. But the CEO sees a challenging year ahead as economics give consumers little reason to reach into their pockets and spend.