The maker of Imperial Leather and Sanctuary Spa has said reaching shoppers on platforms like TikTok Shop was as important as Tesco, as the 142-year-old business vies to compete with a rising cohort of social media-savvy brands.

PZ Cussons – the consumer goods giant that was founded in 1884 and is behind a swathe of beauty, hygiene and baby products – said it had been investing more into innovation and building its brands.

Chief executive Jonathan Myers said the business has to “battle every day to win every purchase”.

“There’s hardly a store in the country that sells a washing and bathing product that doesn’t sell a PZ Cussons product,” he told the Press Association.

But he said the company had been trying to be at the forefront of online shopping trends that many newer brands are tapping into.

“If you look at the way that most of the insurgent brands are arriving, it’s through social media, and that blurs into e-commerce platforms, for example TikTok Shop,” he said.

“It’s about making sure that we’re present, that we’re growing fast, and that we’re stealing our share of purchases there, just as we would a Tesco Express down the street.”

TikTok Shop, the e-commerce arm of the video-sharing social media platform where users can buy and sell products, has grown rapidly over recent years.

Major retailers like Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s are now selling products on the marketplace alongside thousands of smaller businesses and brands.

TikTok Shop recently said it had become the fourth-largest beauty retailer in the UK, according to data from NielsenIQ, while beauty sales on the platform soared by 60% year-on-year in 2025 fuelled by trends such as Korean skincare.

Meanwhile, PZ Cussons’ Mr Myers highlighted the business’s activity in Indonesia – where it has been experimenting with new sales tactics, including a live-streaming channel from its factory.

He said: “We run three shifts of live-streamers who are driving demand for our brands that is then fulfilled through marketplaces like TikTok Shop, and delivered on the back of a moped.”

TikTok sales in Indonesia have increased more than 600%, where PZ Cussons currently operates a TikTok Shop.

The chief executive said he could “definitely see the rise of quick commerce” in urban areas of the UK, accelerated by the “blurring” of social media and shopping channels.

Mr Myers stressed that there was no room for “complacency”, adding: “Competition is good because it keeps us on our toes.”