Global consumer goods giant Unilever has announced a landmark five-year partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate its business transformation using advanced AI, data, and next-generation marketing capabilities. The collaboration aims to drive growth and desirability for Unilever’s vast portfolio of brands, which includes household names like Dove, Vaseline, and Hellmann’s.
By leveraging Google Cloud’s technologies, including its enterprise AI platform Vertex AI and its advanced Gemini models, Unilever is setting out to create a new model for how consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands are discovered, measured, and marketed in an increasingly conversational and AI-driven landscape.
Building an AI-First Digital Backbone
A core component of the partnership involves migrating Unilever’s integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud. This move will establish an enterprise-wide, AI-first digital backbone designed to generate demand more rapidly, convert data into actionable insights, and enhance the company’s agility in responding to market shifts.
This foundational infrastructure will also support the development of “agentic workflows”—intelligent systems capable of independently executing complex tasks across various business processes.
“Technology has moved to the core of value creation at Unilever,” said Willem Uijen, Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer at Unilever. “As brands are increasingly discovered and chosen in environments shaped by AI, we must lead this shift. This collaboration with Google Cloud sets a new level in how technology can power commerce and growth in the fast-moving consumer goods industry.”
Tara Brady, President of EMEA at Google Cloud, added, “In partnering with Unilever as it boldly reimagines its business processes, we are not just modernizing legacy systems; we are deploying our advanced models, such as Gemini, to create a system of intelligence that reasons, learns, and acts. This will set a new standard for agility and consumer engagement in the CPG sector.”
Redefining Commerce with AI Agents
The collaboration will focus on pioneering next-generation marketing capabilities that span brand discovery, customer conversion, and performance measurement. By combining Unilever’s deep industry expertise with Google’s cutting-edge AI, the partnership aims to keep Unilever at the forefront of evolving technology and consumer habits, particularly in the realm of agentic commerce. This new frontier will see AI agents play a more active role in the consumer shopping journey.
Relevance for the MENA Region
While this is a global partnership, its implications are significant for the MENA region’s thriving CPG and tech ecosystems. Unilever has a substantial presence across the Middle East and North Africa, and the innovations developed through this collaboration will inevitably be deployed across its regional operations, setting new benchmarks for marketing and supply chain efficiency.
For local CPG companies and retail tech startups in MENA, this move signals a clear trend: AI integration is becoming essential for staying competitive. It highlights a major opportunity for regional tech founders to develop and offer specialized AI solutions tailored to the CPG sector, from predictive analytics for inventory management to AI-powered marketing personalization for the diverse MENA consumer base.
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Foods products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.7 billion people every day. The company has 96,000 employees and generated sales of €50.5 billion in 2025.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud provides AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. It offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
Source: Zawya
