Hindustan Unilever Celebrates 75 Years in India

The start of the Platinum Jubilee year is being celebrated by 15,000 employees at the Head Office in Mumbai and in over 40 locations throughout the country.

Over the last 75 years the company has always been guided by its belief that ‘What is good for India, is good for HUL.’ The company through its business initiatives and brands has been able to integrate social good with its business goals. The company created history when it offered equity to Indian shareholders, becoming the first foreign subsidiary company to do so. Today, the company has about 400,000 shareholders.

In these years, the company and it’s brands, like Lux, Lifebuoy, Vim, Surf, Rin, Wheel, Closeup, Brooke Bond, Bru, Clinic Plus, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Lakme, Sunsilk, Kwality Wall’s, Kissan and Knorr among others, have become household names used by 700 million consumers across India.

Mr Doug Baillie, CEO and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever, said, “As India’s largest FMCG company, we have been close to the heart of India for 75 years and we pledge to continue our commitment to ‘Earn the love and respect of India, by making a real difference to every Indian’.”

The company’s mission is to add Vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people look good, feel good and get more out of life. True to its mission of adding vitality to life, right from the morning cup of tea to the brushing routine at bedtime, the company and its brands contribute in their own little ways to making the lives of people easy, meaningful and happy.

Notes to the Editor 

Some key facts on the Company are given below for detailed reference:
• The company's journey in India started with Sunlight soap in 1888. With it, began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) in India. Sunlight was followed soon after by Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim.

• Lever Brothers India Limited was incorporated on October 17, 1933. Lever Brothers India, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company and United Traders merged together in 1956 to form Hindustan Lever Limited. On June 25, 2007, Hindustan Lever Limited was renamed as Hindustan Unilever Limited and a new logo was unveiled.

• The company created history when it was listed in the Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras Stock Exchanges in 1956 and offered 10% of its equity to Indian shareholders. The company became the first foreign subsidiary company in India to offer equity to the Indian public. Today, HUL is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

• Seven Hundred million (IRS, 2006) consumers use HUL brands in India as part of their daily lives. HUL brands are market leaders in most of the categories in which the company operates and in other categories they enjoy strong number two positions. For example, Wheel is the largest selling detergent brand in the country and Lifebuoy and Lux are the largest selling toilet soaps in India.

• The Hindustan Lever Research Centre (now Hindustan Unilever Research Centre) was set up in 1958 and was one of the largest and earliest private sector research establishments in India. Today, HUL has more than 670 live patents. The company pioneered several innovations in India. These include:
1) Break-through technology for use of non-edible oils for producing soaps, including premium soaps
2) Non Soapy Detergent (NSD) bars,
3) Nil Mineral Detergent Bar,
4) Scouring Bar for dish wash,
5) Developed an affordable and the most advanced in-home water purifier in the world, Pureit.

• Pureit is the only purifier that gives water that is ‘as safe as boiled water' without boiling, and without needing electricity or continuous tap water supply. It gives water that is free from harmful viruses, bacteria, parasites and cancer causing pesticides. Pureit provides safe water at a cost of just 20 paise per litre and thus puts safe drinking water within the reach of every Indian home. It has already protected the lives of 3 million Indians.

• Project Shakti is a unique win-win rural initiative that catalyses rural affluence. Today, Project Shakti covers 15 states in India and has over 37,000 Shakti Ammas (women entrepreneurs) reaching 1 lakh villages. By the end of 2010, Shakti’s Vision is to have 1 lakh Shakti entrepreneurs covering 500,000 villages, touching the lives of over 600 million people.

• One of our oldest brands, Lifebuoy, has been at the forefront of a sustained direct-contact health education programme aimed at raising hygiene standards in Indian rural communities. Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna, the largest handwash programme ever to be taken up in India has touched the lives of over 80 million people in 30,000 villages across India.

• Hindustan Unilever has been consistently recognized within India and globally by eminent organizations and the government for its achievements in various fields.  The organisation has been recognised among others by TERI, Far East Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal and Businessworld. More recently, Hindustan Unilever was ranked among the top four companies globally in the list of Global Top Companies for Leaders by Hewitt Associates. The Company was ranked number one in the Asia-Pacific region and in India.