Unilever expands Egypt export capacity with Sunsilk production line
Key takeaways
- Unilever has opened a Sunsilk production line at its Mashreq Personal Care factory in Egypt, increasing annual site capacity by 20%.
- The expansion reinforces Egypt’s role in beauty and personal care, with Unilever producing products locally in more than 30 export markets.
- The factory uses around 80% locally sourced manufacturing materials and integrates technologies aimed at improving production efficiency and quality control.
Unilever is strengthening its manufacturing footprint in Egypt with a new Sunsilk production line at its Mashreq Personal Care (MPC) factory in 6th of October City, a satellite city of Cairo. Reports have revealed that the consumer goods company continues to position the country as a regional production and export base.
The line is expected to increase the factory’s annual production capacity by 20%, with all output dedicated to export markets. The expansion marks the 13th production line at the facility and coincides with the plant’s 20th anniversary of operations in the country.
The investment highlights the growing importance of regional manufacturing hubs across the beauty and personal care industry.
Scaling Sunsilk production for global markets
The Sunsilk line uses advanced liquid bottling technology designed to maintain precise mass and volume control during manufacturing, supporting consistency as production scales.
Unilever’s Egyptian operations currently manufacture products across personal care, beauty, and home care categories for brands such as Sunsilk, Dove, LUX, Lifebuoy, Clear, and TreSemmé. The MPC factory supplies more than 30 countries, with approximately 65% of its production capacity allocated to export markets.
The company operates three manufacturing sites in Egypt, with its wider Egyptian production network supporting over 1,200 products across more than 14 brands.
Egypt’s role in beauty supply chains
The expansion reflects a broader trend among multinational beauty and personal care companies to diversify manufacturing networks and strengthen regional production capabilities.
Egypt has become an important manufacturing hub connecting Africa, the Middle East, and other global markets. Unilever’s MPC facility supports this by sourcing around 80% of its manufacturing materials locally, helping strengthen domestic supply chains while supporting exports.
Unilever has expanded its Sunsilk production capabilities at its Mashreq Personal Care factory in Egypt.“Egypt has become an important manufacturing and export base for Unilever,” says Cem Tarık Yüksel, CEO for North Africa, Levant, and Iraq.
He adds that the investment will “help the company manufacture more products locally while expanding access to export markets.”
Future capacity growth
The Sunsilk expansion forms part of Unilever’s broader plans to increase production capabilities in Egypt. The company has revealed intentions to add further production lines and expand capacity over the coming years.
Alongside manufacturing growth, Unilever has highlighted sustainability initiatives at its Egyptian operations, including wastewater treatment technology, reusable packaging within supply chains, and recyclable plastic packaging for manufactured products.
As beauty brands continue to navigate shifting consumer demand, regional manufacturing investment is becoming increasingly important for balancing efficiency, resilience, and market responsiveness.
In 2022, Egyptian Company for Cosmetics acquired a majority stake in Egypt-based Source Beauty for US$5 million. Other investments in the county, including Azelis’ laboratory in Cairo, are aimed at reinforcing the company’s presence in the Middle East and Africa personal care sector, enabling technical support and innovation to customers throughout the region.
