Unilever Thinks EU Is 3rd World 

Unilever Says 'Poverty Is Returning To Europe'

Unilever, the third-largest consumer goods company in the world, is switching up its marketing plan in Europe to adjust to rising poverty in the eurozone as recession deepens.

In an interview with FT Deutschland (in German), Jan Zijderveld, who runs Unilever's European unit, said that "poverty is returning to Europe," and the company is reacting accordingly.

Here is more from the interview, via The Telegraph:

"If a consumer spends in Spain only € 17 when they go shopping, then I'm not going to be able to sell them for washing powder half of their budget."

Unilever has already started to change the way it sells some of its products. In Spain, the company sells Surf detergent in packages for as few as five washes, while in Greece, it now offers mashed potatoes and mayonnaise in small packages, and has created a low-cost brand for basic goods examined as tea and olive oil.

"In Indonesia, we sell individual packs of shampoo 2 to 3 cents and still make decent money," said Mr Zijderveld. "We know how to do that but, in Europe we have forgotten in the years before the crisis."