In the following decade, in 1885, in Britain, William Hesketh Lever (later Viscount

Leverhulme), together with his brother, James Darcy Lever, founded Lever Brothers for the
making and selling of soap.

In 1885 William established a soap factory in Warrington as a branch of the family grocery
business.
1908: Jurgens and Van den Bergh pool their interests.
1920 :In 1920 Jurgens and Van de Bergh decided there was strength in numbers and joined
with another margarine manufacturer, Schicht, in Bohemia.
1925: Since William Lever’s death in 1925, it was Frances D’Arcy Cooper who replaced him
to become the chairmen of Lever Brothers.
1927: The two Dutch firms merged to form Margarine Unie NV in the Netherlands and
Margarine Union Limited in Britain, bonded together with common directors and equalized
dividends and capital values.
1928: Other major European producers of oils, soaps, and margarines were brought in.
1929: After two years of discussion, the companies decided that an 'alliance wasted less of
everybody's substance than hostility' and merged on September 2, 1929. Find annual reports
going back to the company’s foundation in 1929 from the archive of Unilever’s Annual Reports
and Accounts.
1930: In September of 1930, Unilever established the ‘Special Committee’ that was designed to
stabilize British and Dutch operate and concern as an internal cabinet for the organization.
1937: Reorganization equalizes the assets of the Dutch and the British groups of Unilever;
Thomas J. Lipton Company, United States manufacturer of tea, is acquired.
1950: Lever Brothers had three detergent plants in production by 1950 but remained behind in
the industry for some time.
1961: United States ice cream novelty maker Good Humor is acquired.
1965: By 1965 the company had 11 major research establishments throughout the world,
including laboratories in Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and India.
Because the primary ingredients of the new detergents were petrochemicals, Unilever now
found itself involved in chemical technology. As a result, by 1965 Unilever had introduced
biodegradable products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and West Germany
1984: In the United States, plans to take on longtime rival Procter & Gamble were successful in
1984, when Unilever's Wisk moved P & G's Cheer out of the number two spot in the laundry
detergent market.
1987: Furthermore, Unilever bought Chesebrought-Pond in 1987.
1989: Unilever was a major manufacturer of perfumes and cosmetics with the purchase of
Calvin Klein, Inc., Faberge Inc., and Elizabeth Arden in 1989.
1989: The acquisition of three companies, including Fabergé Inc., makes the company a major
player in the world perfume and cosmetics industry.
1990: In 1990 Unilever made substantial inroads into the newly opened markets created by the
unification of Germany.
1991: In 1991 the company further refined its operations by selling the last of its packaging
businesses and by making provisions for the eventual sales of the majority of its agribusinesses.
1992: By 1992 Unilever was composed of some 500 companies conducting business in 75
different countries.
1996: According to Andrew Lorenz, writing in the July 1996 issue of Management Today, the
Persil Power debacle served as a catalyst for a fundamental management reorganization.
One the largest acquisitions of this period was the 1996 takeover of Chicago-based Helene
Curtis Industries Inc., manufacturer and marketer of personal care products, primarily shampoo
and conditioners, hand and body lotions, and deodorants and antiperspirants.
1997: The company sold its specialty-chemicals businesses in 1997 in order to concentrate on
its consumer and household product lines. The company made one large purchase in 1997, the
US$930 million acquisition of Kibon S.A. Indústrias Alimenticia, the number one ice cream
maker in Brazil.
1998: Two months later Unilever announced that it would eliminate about 1,200 of its brands to
focus on around 400 regionally or globally powerful brands--a group that accounted for almost
90 percent of 1998 revenue.
1999: Company announces that it will eliminate about 1,200 of its brands to focus on around
400 regionally or globally powerful brands.
2000: The company’s $20-billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Bestfoods in 2000 made
Unilever one of the largest food companies in the world.
2002: Nowadays, Unilever become the world’s most consumed product brand in home care,
personal care and food. In 2002, Unilever had a worldwide revenue around €48,760 million.
Unilever has two main parenting companies, they are Unilever NV in Rotterdam and
Netherland and Unilever PLC in London, UK. However, Unilever still has two major
competitors named Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Unilever has several worldwide products in
foods such as Lipton, Knorr, Blue Band, Ben and Jerry, Walls, and Brooke bond. In home care,
they have Surf, Sun, Radiant, Domestos and Skip. In personal care, they have Ponds, Vaseline,
Rexona, Lux, Dove, Lifebuoy, Pepsodent, Sunsilk and Axe/Lynx.
2005: The resulting cosmetics group, Unilever Cosmetics International, was sold in 2005.
2008: In 2008, Unilever was criticised by Greenpeace UK because of these actions.
2009: In November 2009, Unilever announced to cancelled and stop buying palm oil from
Indonesian company, PT Smart for environmental reason.
2010: In April 2010, Unilever had secured GreenPalm certificates

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