Unilever Sri Lanka stole the spotlight at the 14^th annual SLIM Brand Excellence Awards held recently, bagging a grand total of 7 awards to emerge as the company that won the most number of awards at the event. This latest recognition further cements Unilever’s position as the custodian of some of Sri Lanka’s most beloved brands.

Unilever dominated the ‘International Brand of the Year’ category with Knorr, Vaseline and Closeup taking home the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards respectively. Knorr also received the Bronze award in the ‘Innovative Brand of the Year’ category. Astra was crowned the ‘Turnaround Brand of the Year’ with a Gold award and also received the Bronze award in the ‘Product Brand of the Year’ category.  Pears bagged the Bronze award in the ‘CSR Brand of the Year’ category.

“We are honored to be recognized at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards especially in a year that saw a record number of new brands compete for the top prize. These awards are a testament to our principles and a validation of the commitment and tireless effort that the Unilever team puts into placing the consumer at the heart of everything we do,” said Sharmila Bandara, Marketing Director – Personal Care, Unilever Sri Lanka.

This outstanding performance comes in a year where Unilever Sri Lanka was crowned ‘Marketer of the Year’ at the Effies. The FMCG major shone bright at SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards with Lifebuoy bagging the ‘FMCG brand of the year', 'FMCG personal care brand of the year’ and 'FMCG youth brand of the year' awards and Sunlight being voted ‘Household care brand of the year’ at the event.

“It is truly gratifying to see our brands continue to succeed in this manner as we continue to strive to engage consumers and foster greater love towards our brands. The tireless efforts of the entire Team at Unilever together with our business partners, traders and agencies ensure that our brands enjoy a strong following and are positioned amongst the nation’s most iconic,” said Makshoodh Meerasaibu, Marketing Director – Home Care, Foods and Water, Unilever Sri Lanka.

The SLIM Brand Excellence Awards is a celebration of brand excellence at national level and rewards the outstanding efforts of exceptional marketers. Through this event, SLIM endeavors to not only encourage best practices in branding, but also to raise local brands to global standards, to enhance the image of marketing in the country and that of SLIM in the region. The event translates as industry recognition of the motivation, dedication and hard work that great marketers have demonstrated in making brand champions. Each year SLIM’s panel of judges evaluates the contenders for each category of award, looking for those elusive qualities which elevate a brand above the sea of nondescript products.

About Unilever: Unilever Sri Lanka is one of the biggest FMCG companies in Sri Lanka with categories such as home care, personal care and foods. Established in 1938 with brands such as Sunlight, Lux and Pears Rose, Unilever has a 75 year long manufacturing presence in Sri Lanka. Today the company manufactures 95% of its products locally and is home to 29 brands that are leaders in their respective categories. In 2014, Unilever Sri Lanka was ranked the highest ranked FMCG and multi-national company in LMD’s Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka, and the No. 1 Employer of Choice in a survey conducted by Nielsen. For more information about Unilever, please visit www.unilever.com.lk

Photo caption: The victorious Unilever Sri Lanka team