Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) executives used a presentation at the CAGNY conference to outline progress since a 2024 strategy update and to reiterate the company’s financial and operational priorities as it pursues what CEO Kris Licht described as a “simpler, sharper Reckitt.”
Portfolio actions and a streamlined core business
Licht said Reckitt has “sharpened” its portfolio by declaring two parts of the business non-core. One of those, Essential Home—described as more than 90 “tail brands” in the company’s hygiene and home business—was carved out and sold over a 12-month period and is now known as Vestasy. Licht also said Mead Johnson, the company’s nutrition business, remains non-core and that Reckitt continues to “look at all avenues” for its future.
Growth priorities: Powerbrands, emerging markets, and category tailwinds
Licht said Reckitt’s growth approach is centered on 11 “Powerbrands,” which he characterized as premium brands with strong equity and consumer trust, with the ability to expand into adjacent categories and into new markets. He emphasized that emerging markets are central to the company’s outlook, noting that emerging markets account for about 40% of the core business by revenue and represent a large runway for category penetration and growth.
As context, Licht pointed to a shift in the global distribution of households earning more than $25,000 annually, which he described as a proxy for “middle-class households” able to participate in categories such as health and hygiene. He said emerging markets, taken together, now exceed the combined total of North America and Europe in this measure, making emerging-market execution “absolutely critical.”
Licht also cited category-level tailwinds, including increased consumer focus on self-care, a continued emphasis on germ protection, and growth potential in automatic dishwashing given he said only 14% of households globally have a dishwasher today. In intimate wellness, he said Reckitt’s brands are present in only about 1% of occasions, which he framed as a significant opportunity.
Brand-building and innovation examples
Licht highlighted brand-building and innovation as key levers. He described Dettol as a “love mark” in many markets outside the U.S. and said the brand is used more than 1 billion times a year and has been extended into more than 10 categories. He also discussed Lysol, saying household penetration has increased 1,000 basis points over the past five years and that the brand has expanded into six categories, including product examples such as Lysol Air Sanitizer and Lysol Laundry Sanitizer.
A major theme was the use of artificial intelligence to speed and improve innovation. Licht described a proprietary “concept generator” that integrates around 30 structured and unstructured datasets and can reduce concept development time “from weeks to just hours.” He said Reckitt has seen up to 70% time savings and concept success rates “consistently equal to or even double” those developed through traditional methods, and that the company is working to roll out the tool across brands after initial work within Finish.
He also discussed Durex innovation, pointing to Durex Intense as a “first-of-the-world” condom using a new material and described an innovation roadmap in China that included polyurethane, hyaluronic acid, benzocaine, and a nitrile-based product in development as part of a broader material-science push.
In OTC, Licht highlighted the long-term attractiveness of the category despite seasonal fluctuations. He pointed to innovation in Mucinex, including the “first children’s cough relief for four hours” with Mighty Chews. Looking ahead, he said Reckitt plans to launch what he called the first 12-hour cold and fever multi-symptom relief product in 2026. Licht said it has been more than 15 years in development and described it as the first FDA-approved new drug application (NDA) in the upper respiratory category in the past 15 years.
Operational excellence and cost program targets
CFO Shannon Eisenhardt said Reckitt’s revised operating model has eliminated layers and increased decision speed by bringing global, category, and local teams closer together. She said the company is aiming to deliver consistent 4% to 5% revenue growth year after year and positioned its “Fuel for Growth” program as enabling both cost savings and reinvestment for sustainable growth.
Eisenhardt described four main cost-savings buckets:
- Simplification, including fewer layers, clearer decision rights, and a unified “category offense.”
- Right-sizing investments to focus resources on growth and ROI areas such as emerging markets and supply chain.
- Automation and shared services, including plans to build global business services (GBS), which she said is an area where Reckitt lags peers.
- Digital and generative AI, including concept generation, sales enablement tools, and social e-commerce optimization.
She said Reckitt has targeted a 300-basis-point improvement in fixed costs by the end of 2027 to reach operating overhead costs of 19% of net revenue, adding that the company was at 20% at half-year 2025 and “on track.” Eisenhardt also said the company expects shared services and Gen AI to drive the remaining progress, while noting headwinds from stranded costs associated with the Essential Home divestiture.
Regional execution: China e-commerce and North America omnichannel
Eisenhardt said emerging markets represent about 41% of core net revenue and cited 14% top-line growth in the first three quarters of 2025, with China as the largest growth driver and India delivering “high single-digit” growth. In Europe—about one-third of core revenue—she said category growth decelerated during 2025 amid tougher consumer sentiment, and she outlined priorities including premiumization, innovation, and competitive execution across channels such as large retailers, discounters, and pharmacies.
For North America—about a quarter of core net revenue—Eisenhardt said Reckitt is focused on expanding premium categories, customer-centric growth, and operational execution. She provided several channel examples:
- China social e-commerce: Eisenhardt said Reckitt has delivered nine consecutive quarters of double-digit top-line growth in China and that about 80% of its China revenue now comes from e-commerce. In a video segment, the company’s China marketing director said the team has produced more than 1 million short videos reaching 15 billion views and has live streamed more than 100,000 hours.
- North America omnichannel: Eisenhardt cited a partnership with Walmart offering 30-minute delivery for upper respiratory products, saying 68% of purchasers using the service were new Mucinex consumers at Walmart. She also said some vitamin, mineral, and supplement brands—including Neuriva and Move Free—have more than 30% of Amazon purchases coming through Subscribe & Save.
Eisenhardt said the company expects balanced revenue growth from both price and volume, highlighted gross margins around or above 60% over more than a decade, and said cost savings from Fuel for Growth are being partially reinvested in marketing, with marketing expense as a percentage of net revenue expected to rise year over year. She said the company expects to grow operating profits ahead of net revenue growth, supporting sustainable EPS growth.
On capital allocation, Eisenhardt reiterated priorities including investment in brands through marketing, supply chain, and R&D; capital expenditures of about 3% to 4% of net revenue; a progressive dividend policy; targeting a single-A credit rating and leverage around 2x; flexibility for bolt-on acquisitions; and returning cash to shareholders through actions such as the Essential Home divestiture and an ongoing share buyback program.
In closing remarks, Licht said Reckitt has “brought our company back to its rightful place” while acknowledging more work remains. He also previewed two additional “Focus On” events in 2026: a virtual session on “digital science,” and an in-person event later in the year in New Jersey focused on North America.
About Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT)
At Reckitt, we protect, heal and nurture. We are the company behind some of the world’s best known and most trusted Health and Hygiene consumer brands.
Delivering for a cleaner, healthier world requires strong brands with a global footprint. From Dettol, Lysol, Durex, Finish, Harpic and Vanish, Mucinex, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Veet and Strepsils, consumers love and rely on our brands to care for their families, as they have done for over 200 years.
We use our scientific expertise and deep human understanding to develop solutions to help people improve their lives – that is why over 30 million Reckitt products are sold each day worldwide.
At Reckitt, we’re all making a real difference to people all over the world, every day.
