Hindustan Unilever

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Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a

British-Dutch company headquartered in
Mumbai, Maharashtra.[3] Its products
include foods, beverages, cleaning agents,
personal care products, water purifiers and
consumer goods.
 Hindustan Unilever Limited

Type Public

Traded as BSE: 500696
NSE: HINDUNILVR
BSE SENSEX
Constituent
Industry Consumer goods

Predecessor Hindustan Vanaspati

Manufacturing
Company (1931–1956)
Lever Brothers India
Limited (1933–1956)
United Traders Limited
(1935–1956)
Hindustan Lever
Limited (1956–2007)
Founded 1933

Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra,

 India
Key people Navin paranjye (CEO)[1]

Products Foods, cleaning agents

personal care products
and water purifiers.
Revenue ₹34,487 crore
(US$4.8 billion) (2016-
17)[2]
Operating income ₹6,047 crore
(US$840 million)(2016-
17)
Net income ₹4,490 crore
(US$620 million) (2016-
17)
Number of employees 18,000 (2014)

Parent Unilever

Website www.hul.co.in
HUL was established in 1933 as Lever
Brothers. Following the merger among
Lever Brothers in 1956, it was renamed as
Hindustan Lever Limited. The company
was renamed in June 2007 as "Hindustan
Unilever Limited".[4]

As of 2019 HUL portfolio had 35 product

brands in 20 categories and employs
18,000 employees with sales of Rs. 34,619
crores in 2017-18.[3]

In December 2018, HUL announced its

acquisition of Glaxo Smithkline's India
business for $3.8 billion in an all equity
merger deal with 1:4.39 ratio[5][6]. However
the integration of 3800 employees of GSK
remained uncertain as HUL stated there
was no clause for retention of employees
in the deal[7]. In January 2019, HUL said
that it expects to complete the merger
with Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer
Healthcare (GSKCH India) this year.[8] The
company has been regularly controversial
for its advertisements targeting and
demeaning Hindu festivals.

Brands and products

HUL is the market leader in Indian
consumer products with presence in over
20 consumer categories such as soaps,
tea, detergents and shampoos amongst
others with over 700 million Indian
consumers using its products. Sixteen of
HUL's brands featured in the ACNielsen
Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted
Brands Annual Survey (2014), carried out
by Brand Equity, a supplement of The
Economic Times.[9]

Food

Annapurna salt and Atta(formerly known

as Kissan Annapurna)
Bru coffee
Brooke Bond (3 Roses, Taj Mahal, Taaza,
Red Label) tea
 Kissan squashes, ketchups, juices and
jams
Lipton ice tea
Knorr soups & meal makers and soupy
noodles
Kwality Wall's frozen dessert
Modern Bread, ready to eat chapattis
and other bakery items(now sold to
Everstone Capital )
Magnum (ice cream)[10]

Homecare Brands[11]

Active Wheel detergent

Cif Cream Cleaner
Comfort fabric softeners
 Domex disinfectant/toilet cleaner
Rin detergents and bleach
Sunlight detergent and colour care
Surf Excel detergent and gentle wash
Vim dishwash
Magic – Water Saver[12][13]

Personal Care Brands:[14]

Aviance Beauty Solutions

Axe deodorant and aftershaving lotion
and soap
LEVER Ayush Therapy ayurvedic health
care and personal care products
International breeze
Brylcreem hair cream and hair gel
Clear anti-dandruff hair products
Clinic Plus shampoo and oil
Close Up toothpaste
Dove skin cleansing & hair care range:
bar, lotions, creams and anti-perspirant
deodorants
Denim shaving products
Fair and Lovely, skin lightening cream
Hamam
Indulekha ayurvedic hair oil
Lakmé beauty products and salons
Lifebuoy soaps and handwash range
Liril 2000 soap
 Lux soap, body wash and deodorant
Pears soap, body wash
Pepsodent toothpaste
Pond's talcs and creams
Rexona
Sunsilk shampoo
Sure anti-perspirant
Vaseline petroleum jelly, skin care
lotions
TRESemmé[15]
TIGI
Vaseline

Water Purifier Brand

 The Pureit Water Purifier

Research facilities

Unilever R&D Centre in Bangalore

The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre

(HURC) was set up in 1966 in Mumbai, and
Unilever Research India in Bangalore in
1997. Staff at these centres developed
many innovations in products and
manufacturing processes. In 2006, the
company's research facilities were brought
together at a single site in Bangalore.[16]

Sustainable living
Unilever launched Sustainable Living Plan
in on 15 November 2010 at London,
Rotterdam, New York and New Delhi
simultaneously.[17]

Headquarters
Hindustan Unilever's corporate
headquarters are located at Andheri (E),
Mumbai. The campus is spread over 12.5
acres of land and houses over 1,600
employees. Some of the facilities available
for the employees include a convenience
store, a food court, an occupational health
centre, a gym, a sports & recreation centre
and a day care centre.[18] The Campus is
designed by Mumbai-based architecture
firm Kapadia Associates.[19]

The campus received a certification from

LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design)[20] Gold is a 'New
Construction' category, by Indian Green
Building Council (IGBC), Hyderabad, under
licence from the United States Green
Building Council (USGBC)
The company's previous headquarters was
located at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai
at the Lever House, where it was housed
for more than 46 years.[21]

Controversy
Mercury pollution

In 2001 a thermometer factory in

Kodaikanal run by Hindustan Unilever was
accused of dumping glass contaminated
with mercury in municipal dumps, or
selling it on to scrap merchants unable to
deal with it appropriately.[22] After protest
by activists led by Dr Deepak Malghan of
IIM, Bangalore Hindustan Unilever
admitted before court to being guilty in the
case in 2010.[23][24]

Skin lightening creams

Hindustan Unilever's "Fair and Lovely" is

the leading skin-lightening cream for
women in India.[25] The company had to
cease television advertisements for the
product in 2007. Advertisements depicted
depressed, dark-complexioned women,
who had been ignored by employers and
men, suddenly finding new boyfriends and
glamorous careers after the cream had
lightened their skin.[26] In 2008 Hindustan
Unilever made former Miss World Priyanka
Chopra a brand ambassador for Pond's,[27]
and she then appeared in a mini-series of
television commercials for another skin
lightening product, 'White Beauty',
alongside Saif Ali Khan and Neha Dhupia;
these advertisements, showing Priyanka's
face with a clearly darker complexion
against the visibly fairer Neha Dhupia,
were widely criticised for perpetuating
racism[28] and lowering the self-esteem of
women and girls throughout India who
were misled by HULN to believe that they
needed to be white to be beautiful.

Triclosan
Several academic papers have pointed out
the firm's continued use of the
antibacterial agent Triclosan ('Active B') in
India because it is under review by the
American Food and Drug Administration
(US FDA).[29]

Kumbh Mela Ad

HUL's recent advertisement for its

beverage Brooke Bond Red Label received
a lot of flak from certain section of people
in India. The advertisement tried to portray
Kumbh Mela(the world's largest and most
peaceful gathering of close to 120 million
people) as a place where elderly people
get intentionally abandoned by their family
members. This resulted in a severe
backlash in the form of adverse hashtag
trending on Twitter
'#BoycottHindustanUnilever'. [30][31]

Awards
The Institute of Competitiveness, India,
has recognized Hindustan Unilever
Limited’s Project Shakti for ‘Creating
Shared Value’ and bestowed upon the
company the Porter Prize for 2014.[32] It
ranked number one on the Forbes list of
‘Most Innovative Companies’ across the
globe for 2014 [33] and was ranked number
three on Fortune India’s list of India’s most
admired companies in a list compiled with
the help of a global management
consultancy Hay Group.[34] It received an
award from Dun & Bradstreet Corporate
Awards in 2014.[35] and was Client of the
Year at Effies 2013 – 2014.[36] It also
received an award as a 'Conscious
Capitalist of the Year' at the 2013 Forbes
India Leadership Awards.[37] HUL won 12
awards overall with 4 Golds, 4 Silvers and
4 Bronzes at the 2013 Emvies Awards.[38]
In 2013, HUL ranked number two on the on
Fortune India's 2013 '50 Most Admired
Companies list'.[39] and was declared the
fourth most Respected Company in India
in a survey conducted by Business World
in 2013.[40]

As per a 2015 Nielsen Campus Track-

business school survey, Hindustan
Unilever emerged among the top
employers of choice for B-school students
graduating that year . It has often been
called a 'Dream Employer' for application
by B-School students in
India.[41][42][43][44][45]

In 2012, HUL was recognised as one of the

world's most innovative companies by
Forbes. With a ranking of number 6, it was
the highest ranked FMCG company.[46]
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) won the
first prize at FICCI Water Awards 2012
under the category of 'community
initiatives by industry' for Gundar Basin
Project, a water conservationist
initiative.[47] Hindustan Unilever Limited
won 13 awards at the Emvies 2012 Media
Awards organised by the Advertising Club
Bombay in September 2012.[48]

The company received four awards at the

Spikes Asia Awards 2012, held in
September. The awards included one
Grand Prix one Gold Award and two Silver
Awards.[49]
HUL's Chhindwara Unit won the National
Safety Award for outstanding performance
in Industrial Safety. These awards were
instituted by the Union Ministry of Labour
and Employment in 1965.[50]

HUL was one of the eight Indian

companies to be featured on the Forbes
list of World's Most Reputed companies in
2007.[51]

In July 2012 Hindustan Unilever Limited

won the Golden Peacock Occupational
Health and Safety Award for 2012 in the
FMCG category for its safety and health
initiatives and continuous improvement on
key metrics.[52]

Hindustan Unilever Limited is rated as best

3Ci Company which is registered with
National Industrial Classification Code
15140.[53]

Pond's Talcum Powder's packaging

innovation has secured a Silver Award at
the prestigious 24th DuPont Global
Packaging Award, in May 2012.The brand
was recognized for cost and waste
reduction.[54]

In May 2012, HUL & Star Bazaar received

the silver award for 'Creating Consumer
Value through Joint Promotional and Event
Forecasting' at the 13th ECR Efficient
Consumer Response Asia Pacific
Conference.[55]

In 2011, HUL was named the most

innovative company in India by Forbes and
ranked 6th in the top 10 list of most
innovative companies in the world.[56]

Hindustan Unilever Ltd received the

National Award for Excellence in Corporate
Governance 2011 of the Institute of
Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for
excellence in corporate governance[57]
In 2012, Hindustan Unilever emerged as
the No. 1 employer of choice for B-School
students who will graduate in 2012. In
addition, HUL also retained the 'Dream
Employer' status for the 3rd year
running[58]

Hindustan Unilever ranked No. 2 in Fortune

India's Most Admired Companies list,
which was released by Fortune India in
partnership with the Hay Group. The
company received the highest scores for
endurance and financial soundness[59]

HUL was ranked 47th in The Brand Trust

Report 2014 published by Trust Research
Advisory. 36 HUL brands also featured in
the list including Lux, Dove, Lipton, Vim,
Kissan, Bru, Rexona, Close Up, Clinic Plus,
Pond's, Knorr, and Pepsodent among
others.[60]

HUL emerged as the top 'Dream Employer'

as well as the top company considered for
application in the annual B-School Survey
conducted by Nielsen in November 2010.
This was the second successive year that
HUL has been rated as the top 'Dream
Employer' in India.[61] HUL has also
emerged as the top employer of choice
among the top six Indian Institutes of
Management (IIMA, B, C, L, K and I).
HUL won three awards at the 'CNBC
Awaaz Storyboard Consumer Awards' in
2011 – Most Recommended FMCG
Company of the Year; Most Consumer
Conscious Company of the Year and
Digital Marketer of the Year.[62]

The company was felicitated in April 2010

for receiving the highest number of
patents in the year 2009 at Annual
Intellectual Property Awards 2010.[63][21]

In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as

the most respected company in India for
the past 25 years by Businessworld, one of
India's leading business magazines.[64]
The rating was based on a compilation of
the magazine's annual survey of India's
most reputed companies over the past 25
years.

HUL is one of the country's largest

exporters; it has been recognised as a
Golden Super Star Trading House by the
Government of India.[65]

See also
Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea House –
Hindustan Unilever's first tea house
restaurant

Notes
1. "The Board of HUL" . hul.co.in. HUL.
Retrieved 25 September 2014.
2. "Hindustan Unilever: Profit and loss
(P&L), Financial Summary of Hindustan
Unilever - NDTVProfit.com" .
profit.ndtv.com.
3. "Introduction to HUL" . HUL. Retrieved
12 November 2015.
4. Srinivasan, Lalitha (31 July 2007).
"Transition to new name was smooth:
HUL" . Mumbai: The Financial Express.
Retrieved 31 October 2013.
5. "GSK Consumer Healthcare to merge
with Hindustan Unilever: Here are 10 things
you should know" . www.businesstoday.in.
Retrieved 2019-03-08.
6. "HUL-GSK deal: 3,800 employees face
uncertainty, decision awaited" .
www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved
2019-03-08.
7. "HUL-GSK deal: 3,800 employees face
uncertainty, decision awaited" .
www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved
2019-03-08.
8. "HUL expects to complete merger with
GSK Consumer Healthcare in 2019" .
Medical Dialogues. Retrieved 20 January
2019.
9. "Most Trusted Brands 2014" . Economic
Times. 22 October 2014. Retrieved
22 October 2010.
10. "Magnum Ice-cream" . Economic
Times. 29 March 2013.
11. "Home care brands | Hindustan
Unilever" . Hindustan Unilever. Archived
from the original on 22 December 2011.
Retrieved 10 February 2012.
12. "Magic – Water Saver" .
13. "Magic – Water Saver" . The Times of
India. 25 June 2012.
14. "Personal care brands | Hindustan
Unilever" . Hindustan Unilever. Archived
from the original on 29 December 2011.
Retrieved 10 February 2012.
15. "TRESemmé" . Hindustan Unilever.
16. Overview of Research Centres on
official website. Retrieved 12 August 2010
Archived 19 September 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
17. Julia Finch, Business editor (15
November 2010). "Unilever unveils
ambitious long term sustainability
programme | Business" . The Guardian.
London. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
18. "HUL moves to new campus | 2010 |
Hindustan Unilever" . Hindustan Unilever.
Retrieved 12 July 2012.
19. "Designed for leverage - Livemint" .
livemint.com. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
20. "HUL Mumbai campus receives LEED
India Gold Certification" . Indiainfoline.com.
15 September 2011. Retrieved 12 July
2012.
21. "Atlas Integrated Finance Ltd" . Aifl.net.
Archived from the original on 3 November
2013. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
22. Jayaraman, Nityanand (April 2001).
"Unilever's Dumping Fever" . Multinational
Monitor. Archived from the original on 27
July 2001. Retrieved 31 October 2013. - via
Ban.org.
23. Hiddleston, Sarah (11–24 September
2010). "Poisoned Ground" . Frontline. The
Hindu. Archived from the original on 4
November 2013. Retrieved 31 October
2013.
24. Jayaraman, Nityanand (31 July 2010).
"One gram mercury can kill a 25-acre lake.
A plant has leached mercury for 10 years
into Kodai" . Tehelka Magazine. Anant
Media Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
25. Anushay Hossain, The Color Complex:
Is the Fixation Really Fair? , Sapna
magazine, 10 March 2008
26. Dhillon, Amrit (1 July 2007). "India's hue
and cry over paler skin" . Daily Telegraph.
Archived from the original on 12 July
2007. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
27. Priyanka Chopra is the new face of
Ponds , Thaindian News, 6 May 2008
28. Criticism in India over skin-whitening
trend , The Daily Telegraph, 10 July 2008
29. See for example Cross, Jamie; Street,
Alice (August 2009) [2008]. " "Anthropology
at the Bottom of the Pyramid" " (PDF).
Anthropology Today. 25 (4): 4–9. Archived
from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2012.
Reprinted in Callan, Hilary; Street, Brian;
Underdown, Simon, eds. (March 2013).
Introductory Readings In Anthropology .
Berghahn Books & The Royal Anthological
Institute. pp. 232–40.
ISBN 9780857459688.
30.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/co
mpanies/hul-in-deep-water-over-kumbh-
theme-ad/article26458602.ece
31.
https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends
/hindustan-unilever-faces-backlash-calling-
kumbh-mela-place-where-old-people-get-
abandoned/story/325349.html
32. "Award Descriptions & Winners 2014" .
porterprize. 31 October 2014.
33. "The Worlds most innovative
companies" . forbes. 31 October 2014.
34. "Most Admired Companies" . haygroup.
31 October 2014.
35. "Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Awards
2014" . Dun & Bradstreet. 31 October 2014.
36. "Effie India's 2014 Gala" . effie. 31
October 2014.
37. "Conscious Capitalist of the Year" .
ForbesIndia. 31 October 2013.
38. "2013 Emvies Awards" . Hul.co.in. 18
September 2013.
39. " '50 Most Admired Companies list' " .
exchange4media. Archived from the
original on 30 November 2013.
40. " 'Most Respected Company in India' " .
Businessworld. Archived from the original
on 2014-05-14.
41. Basu, Sreeradha D (13 February 2013).
"Grooming people is in our genes, says
HUL's Paranjpe" . Economictimes.
42. "Hindustan Unilever Limited has
emerged as the No.1 employer of choice
for B-School students" . Hindustan Unilever.
43. Choudhary, Vidhi (12 February 2013).
"FMCG, management firms most preferred
campus recruiters: Nielsen" . LiveMint.
44. "Advertising is the industry of the
future: Nielson B-School Survey" .
Exchange4Media. 13 February 2013.
Archived from the original on 16 February
2013.
45. "HUL is employer of choice: Nielsen" .
Business Standard. 13 February 2013.
46. "The World's Most Innovative
Companies" . Forbes. Retrieved
7 November 2012.
47. "HUL, Tata Chemicals, six others bag
FICCI Water Awards" . Indiawaterreview.in.
9 August 2012. Retrieved 7 November
2012.
48. "HUL Brands sweep 13 awards at
Emvies 2012 | 2012 | Hindustan Unilever" .
Hindustan Unilever. 3 September 2012.
Retrieved 7 November 2012.
49. "Medal Winners" (PDF). Spikes Asia
2012 Festival of Creativity. 18 September
2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on
25 October 2012.
50. "HUL wins four awards at Spikes Asia
2012 | 2012 | Hindustan Unilever" .
Hindustan Unilever. 24 September 2012.
Retrieved 7 November 2012.
51. "The World's Most Reputed
Companies" . Forbes.com. 20 November
2006. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
52. "Hindustan Unilever Limited won the
Golden Peacock Occupational Health and
Safety Award" . Hindustan Unilever Limited.
2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
53. "Hindustan Unilever Limited 3Ci
Rating" . 3Ci. 15 December 2015. Retrieved
20 January 2016.
54. "Pond's Talcum Powder's packaging
innovation has bagged a Silver Award at the
prestigious 24th DuPont Global Packaging
Award" . DuPont. 11 May 2012. Retrieved
31 October 2013.
55. "HUL & Star Bazaar bagged the silver
award for 'Creating Consumer Value
through Joint Promotional and Event
Forecasting' " . Hindustan Unilever. 2012.
Retrieved 31 October 2013.
56. "The World's Most Innovative
Companies" . Forbes. Retrieved
10 February 2012.
57. "HUL, GAIL gets ICSI governance
excellence awards" . India Times. 23
December 2011.
58. "FMCG sector most preferred by B-
school students: Nielsen Report" . India
Times. 10 January 2012.
59. "Tata Steel, HUL, Colgate Palmolive in
Fortune's most admired companies list" .
AFAQS.com.
60. "India's Most Trusted Brands 2014" .
Archived from the original on 2 May 2015.
61. "Hindustan Unilever is 'Dream Employer'
in India for second successive year" .
Hindustan Unilever. 25 January 2011.
Retrieved 10 February 2012.
62. "Pepsi wins Ad Campaign of the Year at
CNBC Awaaz Storyboard Consumer Awards
2011" . Campaign India. 18 October 2011.
Retrieved 10 February 2012.
63. "HUL wins Annual Intellectual Property
Award | 2010 | Hindustan Unilever" .
Hindustan Unilever. Retrieved 10 February
2012.
64. "Business World - The Other 7 - Shock
and Awe" . businessworld.in. p. 2. Archived
from the original on 25 August 2008.
Retrieved 1 November 2013.
65. "Hindustan Unilever Ltd Background
details about Company Profile" .
Indiainfoline.com. Retrieved 10 February
2012.

External links
Official website

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Hindustan_Unilever&oldid=888284507"

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