Unilever History
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III. Study Background
Company Profile
History
1885-1990 – Before The Company Was Named Unilever
Jurgens and Van Den Bergh opened their first company to produce margarine in Netherlands and moved its market to Germany and built factories there as well. On the other hand, Lever&Co created Sunlight Soap and eventually saw the rising demand in personal hygiene and decided to launch “Lifebuoy Soap”.
1900s – Price of Raw Materials Increased
Level Brothers agreed with three other manufacturers so that they can limit the cost of raw materials. While Jurgens and Van Den Bergh formed an association to share profits but still continued to compete against each other.
1910s – A Decade of Change
Jurgens and Van Den Bergh formed an alliance with Kellogs in preparation for their expansion in North America and Level Brother the industry of margarine with the launch of Planters in South Africa. All three companies are now venturing new industries in America in this years.
1920 – Unilever was officially born
Jurgens and Van den Bergh, who have already teamed up with two European industries, Centra and Schicht, join forces to form Margarine Unie. Margarine Unie have acquired many companies in Europe and gained lots of new members and businesses. And finally on 2 September Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie sign an arrangement to build Unilever.
1930 – Overcoming Challenges
On January 1, Unilever was officially established. Procter and Gamble entered the market and became Unilevers number on one rival. Also, brands that are vitamin-enriched became popular. World War II came and everything became tough for Unilever that it had to invest in industries not connected with oils and fats.
1940s – Focusing On Local Needs
Unilever becomes the majority stockholder in Frosted Foods which owns Birds Eye and the UK rights to a way of food preservation new to mass markets – deep-freezing. The war ended and Unilever was able to recover although remains shut out from Eastern Europe and China.
1950s – A post-war consumer boom
Sunsilk