Suave has been selling personal care products for nearly a century, and in recent years has existed as a well-known, if not particularly innovative, brand. “A little bit sleepy,” is how its SVP of Marketing Rachel Behm describes its last decade under Unilever. But now, just under two years since it was divested from the CPG giant, Suave is embarking on a fresh start.

The brand began in 1937 marketing hair tonics, and has grown to become a multi-category brand selling products for women, men, and children, with 250 million units sold annually and nearly $700 million in annual retail sales, according to Suave. Unilever owned Suave for nearly 30 years, buying then-owner Helene Curtis Industries in 1996 for $770 million. In 2023, it divested the brand, selling to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners in an effort to “shift our portfolio towards strategic growth spaces,” Unilever’s then-president Esi Eggleston Bracey said in a statement. Suave now operates as a standalone company under the Suave Brands Company, led by Unilever vet Daniel Alter.

After the divesture, Suave started from scratch to “reinvigorate” the brand, Behm told Retail Brew, culminating in 33 product launches set for the first half of the year, starting in mid-February, that key into consumer trends while offering low-price products in categories that’ve seen rising prices.

“If you think about all the things that can get stale when a brand is kind of left alone for a number of years, those are the pieces we’re really trying to ratchet up,” she said.

Keep reading here.—EC

Wayfair is releasing a new AI-powered application called Muse designed to help shoppers find inspiration for their home purchases.

• The app is essentially a visual browser where users can plug in a prompt, ranging from the generic to the highly specific, such as “dining room” or “moody 1920s-style living room.”
• The search then generates a series of inspirational photos or scenes, each of which includes a number of recommended items from Wayfair’s catalog that users can either buy right then or add to a collection for purchase later.

“The home category is heavily visual and highly personal, and most people want to start their home personalization journey by simply browsing for ideas,” Shrenik Sadalgi, director of research and development at Wayfair, said in a statement.

Keep reading here.—AV

In a much needed about-face for CVS, the retail giant on Feb. 12 reported better-than-expected Q4 2024 earnings, following a tumultuous year marked by troubles at its insurance arm, Aetna.

CVS’s net income fell 45% from $8.4 billion at the end of 2023 to $4.6 billion at the end of 2024, a decline that executives had largely blamed on higher medical costs in its Aetna business. As costs rose and revenue declined in 2024, CVS executives announced a series of leadership changes and a $2 billion cost-savings plan that included closing thousands of pharmacies.

By the end of last year, total revenue for Q4 hit $97.71 billion, up from $93.8 billion, and higher than the $97.19 that Wall Street analysts expected, CNBC reported. Investors were so relieved that CVS shares rose 15% by closing time, the highest rise the company has seen in more than 25 years, according to Bloomberg.

Keep reading here on Healthcare Brew.—MA