In 2016, Unilever acquired Dollar Shave Club for a reported $1 billion in cash.
The deal was announced in July 2016, giving Unilever a fast-growing direct-to-consumer grooming brand. Dollar Shave Club had built its reputation by selling razors through subscriptions and online marketing rather than relying mainly on traditional supermarket distribution. Its humorous viral advertising and convenient blade-delivery model helped it challenge established razor companies.
Dollar Shave Club was founded by Mark Levine and Michael Dubin. The founders’ idea grew from frustration with expensive razor blades, and the company began operations in January 2011 before launching its website that April. Venture funding supported expansion beyond its original razor offering into other men’s grooming products.
For Unilever, the acquisition offered a way to strengthen its position in male grooming and gain a digitally native consumer brand. The deal is sometimes confused with a purchase by Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, or Johnson & Johnson because those companies also have major personal-care businesses. Unilever later announced in 2023 that it had sold a majority stake in Dollar Shave Club to Nexus Capital Management while retaining a minority interest, but that later transaction does not change the original 2016 buyer.