Unilever plc

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Unilever-2004.svg
Pay Ratio: 315 to 1[1]
Top 10 Plastic Polluters
#BreakFreeFromPlastic[2]

Unilever is a British-Dutch trans-national consumer goods company, with headquarters in both London (Unilever plc) and Rotterdam (Unilever NV); the companies operate as a single business. The company's products, available in ~190 countries, include food and beverages, cleaning agents, beauty and personal care products.
Unilever operates through 4 main divisions:[3]

  1. 46%: Personal Care: skin and hair care products, deodorants and oral care products.
  2. 26%: Foods: soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads;
  3. 15%: Refreshment: ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products and nutritionally-enhanced staples sold in developing markets.
  4. 13%: Home Care: home care products including washing powders, liquids and capsules, soap bars and other cleaning products.

Corporate Political Engagement Rating:[4] Transparency International    B  

Climate Policy Rating:[5] InfluenceMap  A-
Nestle appears to be actively and positively lobbying climate and energy policies worldwide. However, CEO Paul Bulcke is a member of both the European Round Table of Industrialists and the International Chamber of Commerce, which lobby against climate change regulation.

Corporate Crimes: Promoting consumerism, manufacturing demand, flooding the world with ever more (useless) products is an immoral sales strategy; Misleading marketing; Market domination via cartels with other multi-nationals; Pushing the neoliberal agenda and spreading false information; Exploiting relatively cheap resources in the Third World; Promoting unsustainable agriculture; Started using GMOs in its food products before proper regulation - basically forces GMO foods down consumers' throats; Environmental pollution; Collaboration with oppressive regimes; Hypocritical Health Campaigns induced by Self-Interest; Excessive CEO Pay.ref

Company

Shareholders

Total float: 52.5%
Source: MarketScreener.svg, Mar.2020

Subsidiaries

Brands (400+), Hindustan website, Trade marks (666 records)

Unilever Tea Kenya (UTKL)

Hindustan Unilever Ltd

Unilever Ventures

Timelines

ToDo: link, link, link, link, link, link > link, link, link, Lion Capital LLP bought Findus Group in 2008, which has no current links to Findus Italy, from rival private equity firm CapVest Partners LLP in a move which brought together the former Nestle Findus frozen foods business and Young’s Bluecrest Seafood in Britain.ref, link, link, link, link, ... DDG

See also Leverhulme Trust website


Unilever plc/NV

  • Mar.2019:
    Deals-Arrow-Right.svg
    Alsa, a French bakery and dessert brand, was sold to Dr August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG. Alsa produces articles for the French market and other country markets in Europe and North Africa. The acquisition included the takeover of the Alsa and Moench brands, and Alsa's production site in Ludres, Lothingen.[6] Completion took place after consultation with employees and approval by the competition authorities.[7]
  • Aug.2013: Wish Bone Salad Dressing was sold to Pinnacle Foods Inc.ref
  • Jan.2013: Skippy peanut butter business was sold to Hormel Foods Corporation.ref
  • Jan.2012: Brylcreem was purchased from the Sara Lee Corporation just prior to its split into Hillshire Brands (North America) and DE Master Blenders 1753 (International).ref ToDo: SmithKline Beecham this year has gone intrapreneurial as well as entrepreneurial. The company sold Aqua Velva and Lectric Shave lotions and Brylcreem to Brynwood Partners.ref See J.B. Williams Company Inc (Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, Brylcreem, Cepacol, Williams Mug Soap), Brynwood Partners, link.
  • Sept.2010: Alberto-Culver Company was purchased.ref Unilever was required to sell selected hair care brands and its entire USA food business to satisfy antitrust concerns. B&G Foods bought the USA food business; High Ridge Brands bought the USA rights to VO5, Rave, and Coast, with Unilever retaining brand ownership in the rest of the world.ref In 2013, Unilever closed the Alberto-Culver plant, laying off 600 workers.
  • Jul.2008: Unilever agreed to sell its laundry business in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico to American private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners Inc. The deal included brands such as Surf and Sunlight, the fabric cleaning products.[8]
  • Nov.2006: Iglo Group: the majority of Unilever's European Frozen Foods businesses were acquired by Permira and European Capital, along with the Birds Eye and Iglo brands. Unilever retained Findus Italy, its Italian frozen food business.ref
  • Nov.2003: Ambrosia: Unilever sold the Devon-based maker of creamed rice and ready-to-use custard to US private equity firm Kainos Capital LP § Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, owners of Premier Foods plc.ref,ref
    Brown & Polson: Unilever also sold the corn-starch business to Premier Foods.ref,ref,ref
  • Apr.2002: ACH Food Companies Inc bought the Mazola, Argo & Kingsfords, Karo, Henri’s salad dressing and Golden Griddle syrups brands from Unilever. Additional Canadian brands included Benson’s and Canada corn starches, St. Lawrence / St. Laurent corn oil, Crown and Bee Hive corn syrups, Old Colony maple syrup and Old Tyme pancake syrup. Unilever sold the brands as part of its "Path to Growth" strategy, which included a focus on a smaller number of brands in clearly defined divisions. The brands and related assets had been acquired by Unilever in Oct.2000 when it acquired Bestfoods Corporation.ref
  • Oct.2000: § Bestfoods Corporation was acquired, bringing Bovril, Marmite and Ambrosia back into the fold, along with Hellman's mayonnaise, Knorr soups, and Skippy peanut butter.[9]
  • late.1990s: Helene Curtis, Alberto-Culver's historic Chicago rival, was acquired.
  • Oct.1997: CPC International renamed itself to Bestfoods.ref,Bestfoods@archive.org
  • 1998: Unilever inked a deal with ICI to sell its speciality chemicals division of which Quest International is a part. Unilever agreed to sell its shareholding in Biocon India to the Indian promoters; Biocon India became an independent entity.ref
  • 1994: Wish Bone Salad Dressing: Western Dressing Inc sold its Western Dressing label to Unilever, but continuing to pack the dressing until 2002, when Unilever took it in-house, marketing it under the "Wish Bone" brand. See Richelieu Foods Inc.
  • 1989: Biocon Biochemicals Ltd, based in Ireland, was acquired and merged with its subsidiary, Quest International.ref
  • Dec.1986: Chesebrough-Ponds Inc, maker of Vaseline and Pond's face cream, was acquired. ref
  • Jun.1981: Unilever plc: the company re-registered as a public limited company.

Unilever Ltd/NV

  • Nov.1972: Poultry Enterprises, t/a "Country Stile", a broiler-growing and processing joint venture between Unilever Ltd and the Vesteys, was sold to Ross Poultry, a subsidiary of Imperial Foods.[10]
  • 1951: Unilever Ltd/NV: the company renamed itself.

Lever Bros & Unilever Ltd/NV

  • 1938: Lever Bros & Unilever Ltd/NV: the company renamed itself.

Unilever Ltd/NV

Unilever and Union Int sell poultry interest. The Times Archive, Nov.15.1972.



  • ToDo: Unilever Archives
  • 2010: Alberto Culver shareholders vote in favour of our acquisition of the company, subject to regulatory approval. The move would bring brands including TRESemmé, Alberto VO5, Nexus, St Ives and Simple into the Unilever portfolio.
  • 2009: Unilever sharpened its portfolio with the announced acquisitions of Sara Lee’s personal care brands, the TIGI professional hair care brands and the Baltimor ketchup business in Russia.
  • 2008: Home & Personal Care and Foods are combined into a single category structure, and Central & Eastern Europe is managed within an enlarged region along with Asia and Africa. Western Europe becomes a standalone region. Unilever announces the sale of several of its businesses including its North American laundry business, its edible oil business in Côte d'Ivoire together with its interests in local oil palm plantations, Palmci and PHCI, and its Bertolli olive oil and vinegar business with Grupo SOS. The company commits to move to sustainable palm oil sourcing by 2015, purchasing its first batch of certified sustainable palm oil already in November.
  • 2007: Unilever announces agreements to acquire the Buavita vitality drinks brand in Indonesia and Inmarko, the leading ice cream business in Russia.
  • 2006: New technology helps create Small & Mighty, the first super-concentrated liquid laundry detergent that uses one-third the packaging, one-third the water and one-third of the transport of dilute liquids.
  • 2005: Unilever sells its global prestige fragrance business, Unilever Cosmetics International (UCI), to Coty Inc, of the US. The sale is in line with Unilever’s strategy to focus on core categories.
  • 2004: The Vitality mission is launched and the new Unilever brand rolled out, including the new logo which represents the diversity of Unilever, our products and our people.
  • 2003: Unilever Health Institute opens regional centres in Bangkok and Accra, Ghana. Unilever is consulted by the World Health Organisation regarding the development of a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (published May 2004). Our Nutrition Policy and Nutrition and Health Academy are launched.
  • 2002: The portfolio is reshaped and enhanced through acquisitions and the sale of 87 businesses without acceptable growth or margin potential, generating €6.3 billion of sale proceeds.
  • 2001: By 2001 Unilever has cut its brands from 1,600 to 900. DiverseyLever, Elizabeth Arden and Unipath are sold.
  • 2000: Bestfoods is acquired in the second-largest cash acquisition in history. Other acquisitions include Slim.Fast Foods, Ben & Jerry's and the Amora-Maille culinary business in France. The Unilever Health Institute – a centre of excellence in nutrition, health and Vitality – is launched.
  • 2000 - 2009: Consolidation: the 21st century started with the launch of Path to Growth – a strategy to transform the business, leading to more acquisitions and the rationalisation of manufacturing and production sites to form centres of excellence to increase dividends by driving down costs, usually via job losses.
  • 1997: Kibon ice cream is acquired in Brazil. Unilever's chemicals businesses including National Starch and Quest International are sold.
  • 1996: Annapurna iodised salt is launched in India and starts to make a big impact on redressing iodine deficiency.
  • 1994: The disposal of United Africa Company, Unilever's huge West African trading, brewing and textiles company, is completed.
  • 1993: Breyers ice cream is acquired in the US and Organics shampoo is first launched in Thailand. By 1995 Organics is sold in over 40 countries.
  • 1992: Unilever enters the Czech Republic and Hungary, and establishes UniRus in Russia.
  • 1990 - 1999: Restructuring creates four core business areas: Home Care, Personal Care, Foods and Speciality Chemicals. The new structure is led by a new team, ExCo (the Executive Committee) and includes 12 business groups, each responsible for a mix of geographical and product areas.
  • 1989: Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Arden/Fabergé are acquired while Magnum ice cream is launched in Germany.
  • 1987: Dove is relaunched in Europe, starting in Italy.
  • 1986: The acquisition of Naarden doubles Unilever's business in fragrances and food flavours. Chesebrough-Pond's, which owns Pond's and Vaseline, is acquired in the US.
  • 1985: Unipath launches a home pregnancy testing kit Clearblue, which is sold through pharmaceutical outlets in Britain.
  • 1984: Unilever announces its Core Business Strategy and large acquisitions and disposals follow over next decade. Brooke Bond is acquired in Unilever's first hostile take-over.
  • 1983: Axe body spray for men (Lynx in the UK) is first launched, starting in France.
  • 1982: Viennetta ice cream gateaux is first launched, starting in Britain as a Christmas speciality.
  • 1978: Signalling intentions to increase its presence in the US, Unilever acquires National Starch, a leading producer of adhesives, starch and speciality organic chemicals. It's the largest acquisition by a European company in the US at this time.
  • 1973: Frigo ice cream is acquired in Spain. Unilever's subsidiary, the United Africa Company, becomes UAC International – having expanded since its inception in the 1920s to trade in 43 countries.
  • 1971: Lipton International is acquired and Unilever's tea business becomes one of the largest in the world. Impulse deodorant is launched, starting in South Africa. By 1985 it will be sold in 30 countries. Mentadent is launched in Austria as a revolutionary gum health brand.
  • 1970: Unilever acquires the meat business Zwanenberg's at Oss, which would eventually become the Unilever meat group UVG.
  • 1967: Captain Birds Eye/Iglo/Frudesa makes his first appearance in TV commercials.
  • 1965: Unilever formed its own specialist packaging business, the 4P Group, turning an internal service provider into a profit earning business. Cif is launched, starting in France.
  • Jan.1964: Unilever and others acquired Commercial Plastics from Whitecroft Holdings (formerly Bleachers Holdings), the main seller.[1]
  • 1961: Good Humor ice cream is acquired in the USA.
  • 1960: All washing-related brands are placed under the control of a single company, Lever Brothers and Associates. Becel, the pioneering 'health' margarine, is launched after the medical community asks Unilever to develop a cholesterol-lowering food product. Initially it's only available from pharmacies.
  • 1959: Unilever launches its first margarine in a tub, replacing the traditional block wrapped in greaseproof paper, with Blauband in Germany followed by Flora in Britain.
  • 1958: In the Netherlands Unilever expands into frozen foods and ice cream through the acquisition of Vita NV, which was later to become the Iglo Mora Group.
  • 1956: Unilever Research establishes its Biology Department, which in the 1980s will become the BioScience, Nutrition and Safety unit.
  • 1955: On the 22 September Unilever airs the very first advertisement on UK commercial TV, which is for Gibbs SR toothpaste. Fish fingers are introduced in the UK and within a decade they account for 10% of British fish consumption. Dove soap is launched in US.
  • 1954: Sunsilk shampoo is launched in the UK and will become our leading shampoo brand – by 1959 it's available in 18 countries worldwide.
  • 1946: Birds Eye launches the first frozen peas in the UK. At this time meat, fish, ice cream and canned goods account for only 9% of Unilever's total turnover.
  • 1943: Unilever becomes the majority shareholder in Frosted Foods which owns Birds Eye and the UK rights to a method of food preservation new to mass markets - deep-freezing. Years later, freezing will enjoy a resurgence of popularity when it's shown to be one of the best ways of naturally preserving the goodness of fresh food. Around the same time Unilever acquires Batchelor's, which specialises in freeze-dried vegetables and canned goods.
  • 1938: After a campaign to improve public perceptions of margarine and the growth of vitamin-enriched brands including Stork in the UK and Blue Band in the Netherlands, sales of margarine rise to levels close to the highs of 1929.
  • 1930: Procter & Gamble enters the UK market with the acquisition of Thomas Hedley Ltd of Newcastle and becomes one of Unilever's largest rivals.
  • Jan.1930: Unilever is officially established by the merger of Lever Brothers Ltd, Margarine Union Ltd and Margarine Unie NV.
  • Sept.1929: Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie sign an agreement to create Unilever. The businesses initially aim to negotiate an arrangement to keep out of each other's principal interests of soap and margarine production, but ultimately decide on an amalgamation instead.[11]
  • 1928: Margarine Unie acquires the French-Dutch Calvé-Delft group with factories in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. The following year the Union also acquires the firm Hartog's.
  • 1927: Margarine Unie, Margarine Union, was formed by Jurgens and Van den Bergh, who had already teamed up with two European businesses, Centra and Schicht. The union quickly gains new members, creating a large group of European businesses involved in the production of almost all goods created from oils and fats.
  • 1927: Planters Ltd, a Lever Brothers company, launches the first vitamin-enriched margarine - Viking.
  • 1926: Lever Brothers launches its Clean Hands Campaign. Part of its child health policy, it educates children about dirt and germs and encouraging them to wash their hands 'before breakfast, before dinner and after school.'
  • 1925: Lever Brothers buys British Oil & Cake Mills, one of its major competitors and the manufacturer of New Pin Soap.
  • 1922: Lever Brothers buys Wall's, a popular sausage company which is beginning to produce ice cream to sell in the summer when demand for sausages falls.
  • 1920: Lever Brothers gains control of the Niger Company, which later became part of the United Africa Company.
  • Before his death in 1925, Lever Brothers founder Lord Leverhulme builds up a private portfolio of companies that include some dealing with produce from his newly acquired estate in Scotland's Western Isles. Many of these, including Mac Fisheries Ltd, will eventually be bought by Lever Brothers.
  • 1917: Lever Brothers acquires Pears Soap, a company founded in 1789, and Jurgens forms an alliance with Kellogg's in preparation for expansion into North America. Around this time Jurgens and Van den Bergh both establish factories in England, with one in Purfleet, Essex still manufacturing margarine today. Lever Brothers also expands into the margarine market with the launch of Planters, increases operations in South Africa and sees its American business start to move into profit.
  • 1914: In the year that war breaks out, companies controlled by Lever Brothers are making about 135 000 tons of soap a year, while in the Netherlands Jurgens and Van den Bergh have both acquired a number of smaller businesses and each also controls seven margarine factories in Germany.
  • 1913: Leading businesses in Europe join forces to create the Whale Oil Pool.
  • 1912: The first profit-sharing deal between Jurgens and Van den Bergh is terminated but the two companies continue to work together.
  • 1910: Lever Brothers buys its first company in West Africa, WB MacIver Ltd, to secure supplies of palm oil for Port Sunlight.
  • 1909: Lever Brothers develops a palm plantation in the Solomon Islands and at the same time Jurgens and Van den Bergh set up a joint palm-planting venture in German Africa.
  • 1908: Jurgens and Van den Bergh strike a deal to form an association and share profits while continuing to compete against each other.
  • 1906: By now Lever Brothers has a thriving export trade and factories in three European countries as well as one each in Canada, Australia and the US. It has also started enterprises in the Pacific. The same year Lever Brothers comes to an agreement with three other manufacturers to limit competition for raw materials, but is attacked by the press who, dubbing them 'The Soap Trust', accuse them of driving up prices. Lever Brothers subsequently sues the Daily Mail and in 1907 wins £50 000 damages – a massive settlement by the standards of the time.
  • 1904: In the UK, Lever Brothers launch another product to make housework easier - Vim, one of the first scouring powders. The company is incorporated in South Africa.
  • 1899: Lever Brothers introduces a new type of product, Sunlight Flakes – which makes housework easier than with the traditional hard soap bars. In 1900 Sunlight Flakes would become Lux Flakes.
  • 1898: By this time Van den Bergh already has a 750-strong salesforce and launches a new branded margarine – Vitello.
  • Mid 1890s: In the UK Lever Brothers is selling nearly 40 000 tons of Sunlight soap a year and starts expanding into Europe, America and the British colonies with factories, export businesses and plantations.
  • 1894: To support and promote the growing interest in personal hygiene, Lever & Co creates an affordable new product – Lifebuoy Soap. Lever Brothers becomes a public company.
  • 1890: Lever Brothers Ltd: Lever & Company becomes a limited company.
  • 1888: Jurgens and Van den Bergh both move into another prosperous market, Germany, and build factories there.
  • 1887: By the end of this year Lever & Co is making 450 tons of Sunlight soap a week and William Lever buys the site on which he'll build Port Sunlight – a large factory on the banks of the Mersey opposite Liverpool, with a purpose-built village for its workers providing a high standard of housing, amenities and leisure facilities.
  • 1886: Knorr – which will become part of Unilever – launches soup tablets with meat extract to provide nutritious food for low-income consumers.
  • 1884: Lever & Company starts producing Sunlight soap.
  • 1872: Jurgens and Van den Bergh, in the Netherlands, open their first factories to produce margarine.

Additional Sources: About: Our History. Unilever plc/NV. Original archived on Aug.01.2015.

Margarine Unie

  • 1927: Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie, aka Margarine Unie: Jurgens and Van den Bergh merged.
ToDo: BeginningsArchive-org-sm.svg, 1900-1909Wikipedia-W.svg, 1910-1919Wikipedia-W.svg, 1920-1929Wikipedia-W.svg

Lever Brothers Ltd

  • Mar.1952: Unilever Ltd: Lever Brothers & Unilever Ltd changed its name.
  • Dec.1937: Lever Brothers & Unilever Ltd: Lever Brothers Ltd changed its name.
  • Jun.1894: Lever Brothers Ltd: was formed. Unilever plcOpenCorporates-sm.svg
ToDo: BeginningsArchive-org-sm.svg, 1900-1909Wikipedia-W.svg, 1910-1919Wikipedia-W.svg, 1920-1929Wikipedia-W.svg

Chesebrough-Ponds Inc

Chesebrough-Ponds was a diversified worldwide manufacturer of branded consumer products.
  • 1988: United Industries Corporation purchased various assets from Chesebrough-Ponds: Spectracide, Hot Shot, Rid-a-Bug, Bag-a-Bug and No-Pest.ref
  • Jun.1987:
    Stauffer-Chemicals.svgDeals-Arrow-Right.svg
    Stauffer Chemical Company was sold to Imperial Chemical Industries,ref which promptly sold off Stauffer businesses that did not fit its strategy.ref
  • Dec.1986: Unilever plc's USA subsidiary Unilever United States Inc acquired Chesebrough-Ponds Inc.[12]
  • Mar.1985:
    Stauffer-Chemicals.svgDeals-Arrow-Left.svg
    Stauffer Chemical Company, a manufacturer of herbicides for corn and rice, was acquired after Stauffer fell on hard times.ref The acquisition put Chesebrough-Ponds deep into debt.
  • 1955: The Ponds Extract Company, which made Pond's cold cream, was acquired.[12]
  • 1880: Chesebrough Manufacturing Company was founded in New York. Its initial product was Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, a product that the company's founder, Robert A Chesebrough, marketed after its discovery in the oil fields of Pennsylvania. It was then used as a lubricant for equipment.[12]
ToDo: link, link, link, link, link, link, link

Alberto-Culver Company

Alberto-Culver was a manufacturer of personal care and household products including Simple, VO5, Nexxus, TRESemmé, St Ives, amongst others. After being acquired by Unilever in Sept.2010, and the required reduction in American brands, Unilever closed the former Alberto Culver plant in 2013, laying off 600 workers.
ToDo: link, link, Our Story.arch (2001), History.arch (2007), Website.arch, Products.arch (2007), link, link
  • Oct.2011: B&G Foods announced that it had agreed to acquire Mrs Dash, Molly McButter, Baker's Joy, Sugar Twin, Static Guard and Kleen Guard brands from Unilever.ref
  • Sept.2010: Unilever purchased the company from ??.ref,ref following which Unilever sold Alberto-Culver's USA food business to B&G Foods to satisfy anti-trust concerns.ref

Brooke Bond Group Ltd

  • Mar.1986: Brooke Bond Group Ltd was re-registered as a private company.
  • Oct.1984: § Unilever plc acquired the company in a hostile takeover.[13][14]
  • Apr.1982: Wallace Brothers, a commodity broker, was acquired from Brooke Bond by Johnson Matthey Bankers, the bullion trading subsidiary of Johnson Matthey. Wallace Brothers consists of an American and a British company, both of which specialise in soft commodities such as coffee, cocoa and sugar. Johnson Matthew is also a major refiner and manufacturer of precious metals, supplying components for the jewelry industry.[15]
  • Feb.1982: Disposals: BBG sold most of its interests in France, Italy and the Benelux countries to BSN-Gervais Danone.[16]
  •  ??.1982: Mallinson-Denny, a timber group, was acquired.[?ref?]
  • Jan.1982: Brooke Bond Group plc: Brooke Bond Liebig Ltd changed its name, re-registering as a public company.
  • Jan.1973: Welfare Insurance, controlled by Brooke Bond Liebig, sold its fire and casualty activites to the Albion Life Insurance Company. Albion was principally engaged in marine insurance.[17]
  • Nov.1970: Jokisch, a leading West German producer of ready-to-serve meals, was acquired.[18] In mid-1981, Jokisch was sold to Pillsbury Company.[16]
  • Jun.1970: English Chicory: BBL sold its 51% holding to R Paterson & Sons Ltd, makers of Camp Coffee.[19]
  • Apr.1970: Hayward-Peck and Melbray, pie and cooked meat manufacturers, were purchased from the Melbray Group Ltd by Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd.[20]
  • Mar.1970: Readifoods (Norfolk) Ltd was acquired by Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd. Readifoods had applied for a patent on a process that extended the shelf life of cooked vegetables to one month.[21]
  • Feb.1970: Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd was formed by the merger of Oxo Ltd and Brooke Bond Tea Ltd, as the marketing arm of Brooke Bond Liebig.[22] logopic, logopic
  • Oct.1969: Trendon, a toy manufacturing subsidiary, was sold to Friedland Doggart.[23]
  • Jul.1969: Ball's Chutney of Cape Town was acquired.[24]
  • Mar.1969: Jackson Boilers of Leeds, catering equipment manufacturers, was sold to Radiation, a member of the Tube Investments Group, as BBL focused on food-related sectors.[25]
  • Dec.1968: Chardox Ltd: a stakeholding of 49% was acquired. Chardox was the parent company of the Chard Wholesale Meat Supply Company, which operated abattoirs and meat factories in Somerset and Cornwall. In Nov.1969, BBL purchased the outstanding 51%.[26]
  • Oct.1968: Kenya Fishing Flies, one of the world's largest fly-tying businesses, was acquired from its owner, Denis Whetham. The idea was to sell the flies to trout fisherman worldwide.[27]
  • May.1968: Champlain Industries of Quebec, a manufacturer of specialised protein-based food ingredients, was purchased from its founder, Ross Preston.[28]
  • May.1968: Brooke Bond Liebig Ltd: the company changed its name. logopic
  • ?date?: Brooke Bond sold its insurance broking interests. Gillbrooke Insurance Holdings, a joint venture was formed between commodities trader Gill & Dufus Ltd/SA and Brooke Bond Liebig. In Jan.1982, Gill & Duffus bought out Brooke Bond Liebig's 50% stake in Gillbrooke's holdco, Clarkson Puckle Group, a member of Lloyds.[29]
  • Apr.1968: Liebig's Extract of Meat Company Ltd was acquired.[30][31]
  • 1965: A.S.A.P., a management consultancy business run by a group of former L.C.T. marketing men, was acquired. In Feb.1969, Brooke Bond sold its share in the consultancy, renamed "Management Dynamics (Holdings)", to Greyhound Corporation's subsidiary, Greyhound Computer Corporation, having decided that its focus was on the food business.[32][33]
  • 1930: PG Tips was launched, first sold as loose tea.[34]
  • 1911: A packing factory in Stepney, London, was opened.
  • 1908: Tea Bags were invented by accident. Thomas Sullivan, an American tea importer, sent out samples of tea in tiny silk bags. Not knowing what to do with them, his customers put them in tea pots and added boiling water.[34]
  • 1903: Brooke Bond Red Label was launched in British India.[2] It is a blend CTC tea with best quality leaves. Webpage
  • Jun.1892: Brooke, Bond & Company Ltd was incorporated. OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • 1870s: The firm expanded into wholesale tea sales.[3]
  • 1869: Brooke, Bond & Company: Arthur Brooke opened his first shop in Central Manchester, selling tea, coffee and sugar.[4]
  • 1845: Brooke Bond & Company was founded by Arthur Brooke in Lancashire.
ToDo: link, Brooke Bond tea history, Tea info

Liebig's Extract of Meat Company Ltd

Oxoid moved to its own facilities in Basingstoke. Oxoid was purchased by Unilever and joined their Medical Products group as Unipath. 1997, Oxoid became independent through management buy-out and in 2000, PPMVentures, a subsidiary of Prudential Plc, bought a majority stake. 2004, Oxoid Ltd was purchased by Fisher Scientific with the Oxoid board of directors sharing £30 million in cash and company shares. November 2006, folowing the merger of Fisher Scientific with Thermo Electron Corporation, Oxoid Ltd (along with Remel Inc) became the Microbiology Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific.


Oxo Ltd; Oxoid Ltd (mnf + sale of culture media + laboratory preparations); Sunrho Ltd's vegetable canning factory; LEMCO stock tablets; Fray Bentos (corned beef, steak+Kidney pies, steak pasties).

Fray Bentos corned beef was targeted at a working-class market.[1] The tins were also ideally suited as army rations as they weighed just one pound and were easily transportable.[9] With the outbreak of the Boer War, the company's profits were significantly boosted from supplying corned beef to the British Army in South Africa.[9] Fray Bentos corned beef was also supplied to the troops in World War I.[11] Its popularity was such that the term "Fray Bentos" was used as slang by soldiers to mean "good".[1]


Articles

  • Sept.28.2018: Unilever's bid to go Dutch far from assured as L&G joins rebels. Latest resistance from Legal & General Investment Management Ltd highlights a groundswell of protest against the firm leaving British stock indexes. How did it come to this? The tale starts in Jan.2017, when US cheese-and-ketchup firm Kraft Heinz launched a takeover pitch. Unilever was stunned; the board had assumed their company was so big it was bulletproof, especially from aggressive cost-cutters like Kraft, an outfit branded “fast and ruthless” by Unilever chief executive Paul Polman. In the event, Kraft rapidly retreated, but Unilever took a collective vow of “never again”. The final piece was the proposal to incorporate in the Netherlands. The critical problem, however, is that Unilever’s shares would be ejected from all UK stock indices, including the FTSE 100 and FTSE All-Share, if the company incorporates in Rotterdam. Some sceptics suspect deeper motives behind the choice of Rotterdam. Did Unilever judge that the Netherlands, with its stricter takeover rules, would offer greater sanctuary from future Krafts? Was Brexit a factor? Did a board with Dutch chairman and a Dutch chief executive simply prefer the Netherlands? Nils Pratley, The Guardian.
  • Jul.30.2018: 7 Companies Launch Global Coalition for Animal Welfare. Seven global food firms — Nestlé, Unilever, Ikea Food Services, Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, and Sodexo — have joined forces to create the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW). More than 70 bn animals are farmed for food annually, according to GCAW, and more than 70% of these animals often experience poor welfare standards. To improve animal welfare, the coalition will implement 3 strategies: provide a platform for food companies to work more closely with farm animal welfare experts; prioritize welfare issues and develop roadmaps for industry change; and advance knowledge through industry insights, research, and partnerships for action. These goals build on the pledge that Nestlé made last year, which states the company will only source cage-free eggs as ingredients for all of its food products globally by 2025. Nestlé also pledged to improve conditions for chickens raised to provide meat ingredients for their businesses throughout the United States and Europe. The new coalition intends to publish a collective agenda in early 2019. Veterianarian's Money Digest. See also Farm animal welfare
  • Mar.01.2018: PG goes plastic-free with brew for fully compostable teabags. #PG Tips is to remove plastic from all of its teabags by the end of the year after more than 200,000 people signed an online petition. Unilever, owner of PG, said that its teabags would be made from a new plant-based material that is 100 per cent biodegradable. Teabags are often sealed shut with the heat-resistant plastic polypropylene. The first bags using the replacement material, made from corn starch, will go on sale next week. The Times.
  • Jan.02.2018: Unilever’s new strategy for fighting local upstarts: churning out copycat products. Outfoxed by Small-Batch Upstarts, Unilever Decides to Imitate Them. Maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise targets 'ankle biters' with copycat ice cream, clove-oil toothpaste. Saabira Chaudhuri, Wall Street Journal.

References

  1. ^ Shareholder pay revolt 'embarrassed' Royal Mail bosses, MPs hear. Rachel Reeves, chairman of the Select Committee, said the ratio at Unilever was 315 to 1, more than twice the FTSE 100 average of 146 to 1. Last year, CEO Paul Polman received a pay package worth £10.3m. Angela Monaghan, The Guardian, Oct.16.2018.
  2. ^ The Brand Audit Report, Vol.1 Over the next 10 years, plastic production is predicted to increase by 40%. Traditionally made from oil byproducts, but now increasingly made using fracked gas. Recycling is not a feasible solution to the plastic pollution crisis. Many plastics are very difficult, or impossible, to recycle. Megacorps make $billions of profits from the plastic-wrapped products - but leave taxpayers to pay for and manage the negative impacts. As the food and products contained in plastic are consumed, people are accumulating phthalates and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in their bloodstreams. Break Free From Plastic, Oct.2018.
  3. ^ Annual Report 2017. Foods and Refreshment segments were combined in Jan.2018. . Accessed Jan.10.2019.
  4. ^ Corporate Political Engagement Index 2018. The new index of 104 multi-national companies, many of whom regularly meet with govt, has found nearly 75% are failing to adequately disclose how they engage with politicians. Only one company received the highest grade, with the average grade being "E" – representing poor standards in transparency. Transparency International UK, Nov.2018.
  5. ^ The A-List of Climate Policy Engagement. Which global companies lead in strategic lobbying for the ambitions of Paris? Rankings measure how a corporation or trade association behaves towards 2°C aligned climate and energy policy. Influence Map, Apr.2018.
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  28. ^ Canada again. The Times Archive, May.01.1968.
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  31. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tar-1968.09.04
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