Unilever

Unilever NV
Unilever PLC

Public
(Euronext: UNA)
Type

(LSE: ULVR)
(NYSE: UN) (Unilever N.V.)
(NYSE: UL) (Unilever PLC)

Founded
Headquarters
Area served

1930
Rotterdam, Netherlands; London, United
Kingdom
Worldwide
Michael Treschow
(Chairman)

Key people

Baron Simon of Highbury

(Vice Chairman)

Paul Polman
(CEO)

Industry

Conglomerate

Products

See brands listing

Revenue

40.523 billion (2008)

Operating income 8.386 billion (2008)

Net income

5.285 billion (2008)

Employees

174,000 (2008)

Website

www.unilever.com

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's

consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.

Unilever employed 174,000 people and had a worldwide revenue of 40.5 billion in
2008.[1]
Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever NV in Rotterdam, The
Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. This arrangement is similar
to those of Reed Elsevier and Royal Dutch Shell prior to their unified structures. Both
Unilever companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business.
The current non-executive Chairman of Unilever N.V. and PLC is Michael Treschow
while Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive.
Unilever's main competitors include Procter & Gamble, Nestl, Danone, Kraft Foods,
S.C. Johnson & Son, Reckitt Benckiser and Henkel.

Contents
[hide]

1 History
2 Operations
o 2.1 Brands
2.1.1 Heartbrand
3 Advertising
4 Corporate governance
5 Criticism
o 5.1 Deforestation
o 5.2 India
5.2.1 Involvement in race issues
5.2.2 Dumping of mercury at Kodaikanal
o 5.3 Sexism
o 5.4 Trade unions
o 5.5 Popular media
6 See also
7 References

8 External links

[edit] History
Unilever was created in 1930 by the amalgamation of the operations of British soapmaker
Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie, a merger as palm oil was
a major raw material for both margarines and soaps and could be imported more
efficiently in larger quantities.
In the 1930s the business of Unilever grew and new ventures were launched in Latin
America. In 1972 Unilever purchased A&W Restaurants' Canadian division but sold its
shares through a management buyout to former A&W Food Services of Canada CEO

Jeffrey Mooney in July 1996.[2] By 1980 soap and edible fats contributed just 40% of
profits, compared with an original 90%. In 1984 the company bought the brand Brooke
Bond (maker of PG Tips tea).
In 1987 Unilever strengthened its position in the world skin care market by acquiring
Chesebrough-Ponds, the maker of Rag, Pond's, Aqua-Net, Cutex Nail Polish, and
Vaseline. In 1989 Unilever bought Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Faberg, and Elizabeth
Arden, but the latter was later sold (in 2000) to FFI Fragrances.[3]
In 1996 Unilever purchased Helene Curtis Industries, giving the company "a powerful
new presence in the United States shampoo and deodorant market".[3] The purchase
brought Unilever the Suave and Finesse hair-care product brands and Degree deodorant
brand.[4]

Global employment at Unilever 2000-2008

Black represents employment numbers in Europe, light grey represents the Americas and
dark grey represents Asia, Africa, and Middle East. Between 2000 and 2008 Unilever
reduced global workforce numbers by 41%, from 295,000 to 174,000. Note: Europe
figures for 2000-2003 are all Europe; from 2004 figures in black are Western Europe. For
2004-2008 Figures for Asia, Africa and Middle East include Eastern and Central Europe.
Source: Unilever Annual Reports 2004, 2008
In 2000 the company absorbed the American business Best Foods, strengthening its
presence in North America and extending its portfolio of foods brands. In April 2000 it
bought both Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast.
The company is fully multinational with operating companies and factories on every
continent (except Antarctica) and research laboratories at Colworth and Port Sunlight in
England; Vlaardingen in the Netherlands; Trumbull, Connecticut, and Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey in the United States; Bangalore in India (see also Hindustan Unilever
Limited); Pakistan; and Shanghai in China.

The US division continued to carry the Lever Brothers name until the 1990s, when it
adopted the parent company's moniker. The American unit now has headquarters in New
Jersey, and no longer maintains a presence at Lever House, the iconic skyscraper on Park
Avenue in New York City.

Unilever's Lipton brand

The company is said to promote sustainability[5] and started a sustainable agriculture
programme in 1998.[6] In May 2007 it became the first tea company to commit to
sourcing all its tea in a sustainable manner,[7] employing the Rainforest Alliance, an
international environmental NGO, to certify its tea estates in East Africa, as well as thirdparty suppliers in Africa and other parts of the world.[8] It declared its aim to have all
Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010,
followed by all Lipton tea bags globally by 2015.[9]
Covalence, an ethical reputation ranking agency, placed Unilever at the top of its ranking
based on positive versus negative news coverage for 2007.[10]
In 2008 Unilever was honoured at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy
Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and
Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Digital Set Top
Boxes" for its program Axe: Boost Your ESP.[11]

[edit] Operations
Unilever owns more than 400 brands as a result of acquisitions, however, the company
focuses on what are called the "billion-dollar brands", 13 brands which each achieve
annual sales in excess of 1 billion. Unilever's top 25 brands account for more than 70%
of sales.[12] The brands fall almost entirely into two categories: Food and Beverages, and
Home and Personal Care.

[edit] Brands
Further information: List of Unilever brands
[edit] Heartbrand

The Heartbrand logo accompanying various brands of Unilever ice creams

Unilever is the world's biggest ice cream manufacturer, with an annual turnover of 5
billion.[13] Except for Popsicle, Klondike, Ocean Spray ice cream, Slim Fast ice cream,
Breyers, Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's, all of its ice cream business is done under the
"Heartbrand" brand umbrella, so called because of its heart-shaped logo. Unilever
currently operates eleven ice cream factories in Europe; the biggest include factories at
Heppenheim in Germany, Caivano in Italy, St. Dizier in France and Gloucester in the
United Kingdom.
The Heartbrand was launched in 1999 (and slightly modified in 2002) as an effort to
increase international brand awareness and promote cross-border synergies in
manufacturing and marketing ("centralisation"). It is present in more than 40 countries[13].
Although the logo is common worldwide, each country retained the local brand so as to
keep the familiarity built over the years, one notable exception being Hungary where the
previous Eskimo brand was replaced with Algida in 2003.
In 2005, Glidat Strauss received special permission from Unilever to export their brand of
ice cream to the United States because of the strict kosher certification the products in
Israel have. Under terms of the agreement, Strauss ice cream and krembo may be sold
only in kosher supermarkets and import shops. It is distributed in North America by
Dairy Delight, a subsidiary of Norman's Dairy.

A freezer in Queens, NY filled with Strauss ice cream from Israel with the Heartbrand
Prior to the heart logo, each country could choose its own logo, although the most
common one consisted of a blue circle with the local brand's name over a background of

red and white stripes; second most common old logo, used by Wall's in the UK and other
countries, was a yellow logo with Wall's in blue text.
Unilever generally manufactures the same ice-cream with the same names, with rare
occasions of regional availability, under different brands. Some of these ice-creams
include Carte D'Or, Cornetto, Magnum, Solero and Viennetta.

[edit] Advertising
Unilever has produced many advertising campaigns, including:

Lynx/Axe click advert with Nick Lachey

PG Tips Monkey and Al
Knorr Chicken Tonight, 'I feel like chicken tonight'
Flora London Marathon
Knorr global brand
Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, including Evolution
Calve Pindakaas (peanut butter) in the Netherlands
Comfort Pure recommended by mothercare
Clear Anti-Dandruff shampoo and conditioner with the entertainer Rain
Clear Anti-Dandruff shampoo and conditioner with the entertainer Nicole
Scherzinger
Clear Soft and Shiny shampoo and conditioner with the actress Sandra Dewi

[edit] Corporate governance

Unilever's highest executive body is called the Unilever Executive which is led by the
Group Chief Executive (Paul Polman). It is responsible for delivering profit and growth
across the company.
Members of the Unilever Executive include: Executive and non-executive directors at
Unilever are:
Paul Polman (Group Chief
Michael Treschow
Executive)
Vindi Banga (President Categories)
Professor Genevive Berger
Doug Baillie (President Western
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Brittan of
Europe)
Spennithorne, QC
Harish Manwani (President
Wim Dik
Asia,Africa, Central & Eastern
Charles E. Golden
Europe)
Kees J. Storm
Jean-Marc Huet (Chief Financial
Jeroen van der Veer
Officer)
Byron E. Grote
Sandy Ogg (Chief HR Officer)
Hixonia Nyasulu
N. R. Narayana Murthy
Michael B. Polk (President

Americas)

Lord Simon of Highbury CBE

[edit] Criticism
Unilever has attracted a variety of criticisms from political, environmental and human
rights activists.[14] For example, it has been criticised by Greenpeace for causing
deforestation,[15] for testing products on animals by People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, and for making use of child labour,[16] among others.

[edit] Deforestation
Unilever was targeted in 2008 by Greenpeace UK,[17] which criticised the company for
buying palm oil from suppliers that are damaging Indonesia's rainforests. Unilever, as a
founding member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, responded by publicizing
its plan to obtain its palm oil from sources that are certified as sustainable.[18]
In Cte d'Ivoire, one of Unilever's palm oil suppliers was accused of clearing forest for
plantations, an activity that threatens a primate species, Miss Waldron's Red Colobus.
Unilever intervened to halt the clearances pending the results of an environmental
assessment.[19]

[edit] India
Unilever has been criticised by international commentators such as Corpwatch for failing
to live up to the environmental standards it proclaims especially when operating in
developing countries such as India.[20] In India Unilever operates through its subsidiary
Hindustan Unilever.
[edit] Involvement in race issues
According to The Daily Telegraph, Hindustan Unilever, an Indian company that is
majority owned by Unilever, was forced to withdraw television advertisements for its
women's skin-lightening cream, Fair and Lovely. Advertisements depicted depressed,
dark-skinned women, who had been ignored by employers and men, suddenly finding
new boyfriends and glamorous careers after the cream had lightened their skin.[21]
According to the Austrian Newspaper Der Standard[22] and the Austrian Broadcasting
Company[23], the Austrian branch of Unilever (Eskimo) is producing and marketing an
ice-cream under the name Mohr im Hemd[24]. "Mohr" (moor), as a colonial German word
for African or black people, has a heavily colonialist and racist connotation. "Mohr im
Hemd" (moor in the shirt) is a traditional Austrian chocolate speciality which refers to
naked, "wild" Africans. Unilever refutes any racist intentions and claims that it has tested
the name in broad market studies in Austria without any critical feedback.
[edit] Dumping of mercury at Kodaikanal

Unilever was accused by Greenpeace of double standards and negligence for allowing its
Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Lever, to dump several tonnes of highly toxic mercury waste
in the tourist resort of Kodaikanal and the surrounding protected nature reserve of
Pambar Shola, in Tamilnadu, Southern India.
Greenpeace activists and concerned residents cordoned off a contaminated dump site in
the centre of Kodaikanal to protect people from the mercury wastes that had been
discarded in open or torn sacks by Hindustan Lever which manufactures mercury
thermometers for export, mainly to the United States. According to Hindustan Lever,
from there, the thermometers are sold to Germany, UK, Spain, USA, Australia and
Canada. The factory, set up in 1977, imported from the United States, after the US factory
was shut down for unknown reasons.[20]

[edit] Sexism
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood criticized Unilever for the 2007 Axe
marketing campaign, which they considered sexist.[25] Unilever's response is that the Axe
campaign is intended as a spoof and "not meant to be taken literally".[26] Critics noted
that, to the contrary, Unilever had launched the contradicting Dove "Real Beauty"
marketing campaign, which encouraged women to reject the underfed and hypersexualized images of modern advertising around the same time, contradicting and debunking previous claims of sexism.[27]

[edit] Trade unions

Some trade unions representing Unilever employees in Pakistan have complained about
the company's activities, including outsourcing and tens of thousands of job losses in
recent years. In one example from July 2007, Unilever Pakistan called in police and
paramilitary after union protests at allowances and suspensions resulted in union
members holding company executives hostage for 16 hours.[28] The IUF global union
federation, representing food workers, took up this cause and in December 2007 they
called for a union day of action against Unilever.[29] In early October 2008 they launched
a website focused on these issues under the banner of "the vanishing Unilever worker"
called UnileverWatch.[30].

[edit] Popular media

The band Chumbawamba has a song critical of Unilever, named "after the company".

Personal care brands

Axe
Dove
Lifebuoy

Lux
Pond's

Rexona
Signal, Close Up
Sunsilk
Vaseline

Home care brands

Cif
Comfort
Domestos
Omo

Radiant
Sunlight
Surf

Food brands

Becel, Flora
Bertolli
Blue Band, Rama
Heartbrand

Hellmann's, Amora
Knorr
Lipton
SlimFast

Billion-Euro brands
Brands with annual sales in excess of 1 billion.[1]

Axe/Lynx
Blue Band
Dove
Flora/Becel
Heartbrand
Hellman's
Knorr

Lipton
Lux (soap)
Omo
Rexona/Sure
Sunsilk

Surf (detergent)

[edit] Food and beverages

Ades or Adez
soya-based drinks
Alsa desserts and
syrups
Amora French
mayonnaise and
dressings
Amino - dehydrated
soup (Poland)
Annapurna salt
and wheat flour
(India)
Becel also known
as Flora/Promise;
health-aware:
margarine, spreads,
cooking oil, milk,
fermented milk
Ben & Jerry's ice
cream
Best Foods
mayonnaise,
sandwich spreads,
peanut butter and
salad dressings
Bertolli pasta
sauces
(ambient/chilled &
frozen) and margarine
BiFi - sausage-based
snacks (Germany)
Blue Band familyaware: margarine,
bread, cream
alternatives
Bovril beef extract
Breyers ice cream
Brooke Bond tea
Bru instant coffee
(India)
Brummel & Brown
margarine
Bushells tea
(Australia, New

Fruco ketchup,
mayonnaise and
condiments
Fudgsicle
Gallo olive oil
Heartbrand ice
cream (umbrella logo)
Hellmann's
mayonnaise
I Can't Believe It's
Not Butter
margarine spread
Imperial Margarine
margarine
Jif Lemon & Lime
Juice
Kasia - margarine
(Poland)
Kecap Bango soya
sauce in Indonesia
Kissan Ketchups
Squashes and Jams
(India and Pakistan)
Klondike Ice
cream sandwiches
Knorr (Knorr-Suiza in
Argentina) sauces,
stock cubes, readymeals, meal kits,
ready-soups, frozen
food range
Lady's Choice
mayonnaise, peanut
butter and sandwich
spreads (Philippines)
Lan-Choo tea
(Australia/New
Zealand)
Lao Cai Seasoning
Lipton tea
Lipton Ice Tea
ready-to-drink tea
(partnership with

Peperami Sausage
snacks
PG Tips tea (UK)
Phase cooking oil
Planta margarine
Popsicle Frozen
treats
Pot Noodle cup
noodles
Promise
Becel/Flora
Rag pasta sauces
Rama margarine
Royal pastas
(Philippines)
Rinso - detergent
(only in Indonesia)
Royco stock cubes,
non-MSG stock (only
in Indonesia)
Red Rose Tea tea
(Canada)
Sana Margarine
(Turkey)
Saga tea (Poland)
Sariwangi tea
(Indonesia)
Scottish Blend tea
Skippy peanut
butter
SlimFast diet
products
Sunlight Soap
(Africa)
Surf (Ireland, UK,
Indonesia)
Stork margarine
Streets (ice cream)
(Australia/New
Zealand)
Tortex - ketchup
(Poland)
Turun sinappi

Zealand)
Calv sauces,
ketchup, mustard,
mayonnaise, peanut
butter
Captain Findus
children's frozen food
Conimex Asian
spices (Netherlands)
Colman's mustard
Continental side
dishes
Country Crock
margarine
Delma margarine
(Poland)
Du Darfst (Germany)
Elmlea Pourable
artificial cream
available in different
varieties (UK)
Fanacoa
Mayonnaise, mustard,
ketchup (Argentina)
Findus frozen
foods (Italy, UK,
Scandinavia)

PepsiCo)
Lizano Sauce (Salsa
Lizano) - Costa Rican
condiment
Lyons' - tea (Ireland)
Maille French
mustard
Maizena corn
starch
Marmite yeast
extract spread (except
in Australia and New
Zealand)
McCollins tea
(Peru)
Mrs. Filbert's
margarine (USA)
Paddle pop Ice
cream (Australia,
Indonesia
[incorporated with
Wall's])

mustard
(Finland/Sweden)
Unilever
Foodsolutions
professional markets
(food service)
Unox soups,
smoked sausages
Vaqueiro cooking
margarine, cooking
oil
Wall's ice cream
Wish-Bone salad
dressing

Pfanni Bavarian
potato mixes

Flora margarine,
light butter, jams

[edit] Partial list of national brands variants of the Heartbrand

Algida - Czech Republic, Cyprus,

Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia,
Malta, Poland, Romania, Russia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey
Bresler - Chile
Cargills - Sri Lanka
Eskimo - Austria
Frigo - Spain, Serbia
Frisko - Denmark
GB Glace - Sweden, Finland
Glidat Strauss - Israel, USA
Good Humor - USA, Canada
HB - Ireland

Kwality Wall's - India

Langnese - Germany
Lusso - Switzerland
Miko - France
Ola - Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg, South Africa
Ol - Portugal
Pingino - Ecuador
Selecta - Philippines
Streets - Australia, New Zealand
(slogan 'Nothing Beats Streets')[2]
Kibon - Brazil
Tio Rico - Venezuela

Helados La Fuente - Colombia

Hertog Ola - Netherlands (selected
products)
- China

Holanda - Mexico, Central America

Wall's - United Kingdom (Great

Britain), Hong Kong, Singapore,
Indonesia, Pakistan,
Malaysia,Thailand and other parts of
Asia

Wall's HB - United Kingdom

(Northern Ireland)

[edit] Home and personal care brands

Ala - laundry detergent (ArgentinaBrazil)

Andrelon
Axe - deodorant, shower gel,
bodyspray (Lynx in the UK, Ireland
and Australia)
Ayush (India)
Baba (East Europe)
Brilhante - laundry detergent (Brazil)
Brut - cologne
Caress - soap
Cif - cleaning
Clear - anti-dandruff shampoo
(China, Philippines, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Romania, Pakistan,
Poland, Hungary)
Clear - conditioner (Philippines,
Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan)
Close-Up - toothpaste
Coccolino - softener (Poland,
Hungary)
Comfort
Cream Silk - conditioner
(Philippines)
Degree - deodorant
Domestos - bleach (Poland, Czech
Republic, Romania, Hungary, Spain,
Germany, Italy, Israel, France,
Turkey)

Key Facts

Dove - skin, hair, and deodorant

Fair and Lovely - skin lightening
product (available in India and
Malaysia)
Finesse - shampoo and conditioner
(sold in 2006 to Lornamead Brands,
Inc.)
Gessy (Brazil)
Glorix (Netherlands)
Good Morning - soap (Egypt)
Impulse - deodorant
Lever 2000 - soap
Lifebuoy - soap (Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam, Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan, Indonesia)
Linic - dandruff shampoo
Lynx - deodorant, men's
Lyso Form - home care (Italy)
Lux - women's soap, shower gel, and
lotions (Caress in the United States)
Minerva - laundry and dishwasher
detergents (Brazil)
Mist - soap (Egypt)
Omo (Bolivia) - laundry detergent
Pears Transparent Soap
Pepsodent - dental

Persil (IE/UK/FR/NZ)

In 2008 our worldwide turnover was 40.5 billion

We employ 174 000 people in around 100 countries worldwide
Every day, 160 million people choose our brands to feed their families and to
clean themselves and their homes
Our strong portfolio of foods, home and personal care brands is trusted by
consumers the world over. Among them, the top 25 brands account for over 70%
of our sales
We have thirteen 1bn brands: Axe/Lynx, Knorr, Becel/ Flora, Hellmann's,
Lipton, Omo, Surf, Lux, Dove, Blue Band/Rama, Sunsilk, Rexona and our
Heartbrand ice creams
In 2008 we invested 927 million in research and development, for example in
opening new Centres of Excellence for product research and development in Italy,
Poland and the UK
We are the global market leader in all the Food categories in which we operate:
Savoury and Dressings, Spreads, Weight Management, Tea, and Ice Cream
We are also global market leader in Skin and Deodorants, and have very strong
positions in other Home and Personal Care categories
In 2008 we invested 91 million on community projects worldwide
We have 270 manufacturing sites across six continents, all of which strive for
improved performance on safety, efficiency, quality and environmental impacts,
working to global Unilever standards and management systems