By:

Vaishali
Rohit
Adithi Anand
Renuka Tailor
Akshaykumar Kirsur
Ashima Malhotra
How the journey started !!!

 Visons of below 19th Century Pioneers led to

innovation and creation

Antonius Johannes Samuel Van Den Bergh William Lever

Jurgens
How it began ?
 IndustrialRevolution led, Britain to convert its
farmland for industrial development in 19th century.
 Increase in population lead to shortage of butter and
basic entities.
 Britain started importing butter from Netherlands.
 Rivalries
between two family(Yo goons &
Vandenberg's) in 1869 led to innovation of Marjorine in
France.
Continued..

 With increased competition, two families merged to

create a new market era called Margarine UNI.
 Emerging of William Lever in consumer markets.
 Progress
towards Strong foundation by CRM and
Employee Engagement.
 Merging process of Margarine Uni and Lever Brothers
started to form Unilever in 1920.
News about merger of Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie and their company
meeting for The Equalisation Agreement.
Swadeshi Movement
• 1918 to 1947: Swadeshi thought shaped by Gandhi,
accompanied by the rise of Indian industrialists.

• HUL’s Soap sale plummeted in 1930.

Goods being moved out of

Mumbai factory.
 Unilever’s Indian Subsidiaries
 Hindustan Vanaspati Pvt. Ltd (1931)
• Unilever’s first Indian subsidiary.
• Manufacturer of dalda oil and other products.

 Lever Brothers India Limited (1933)

• Manufacturer of soaps.

 United Traders Limited (1935)

• For marketing the products produced by the
company or imported by the company.

An old kirana
store with a Dalda ad.
 HUL in post-
independence
 1950s

 1951- Prakash Tondon became the first director of HUL.

 1955 - maximum number of managers were Indian.
 1956- The three companies, Hindustan Vanaspati
Manufacturing Company, Lever Brothers India Limited
and United Traders Limited merged to form Hindustan
Level Limited.
 1959- The company launched surf.
 1960s

 1961-
Prakash Tondon became the first Indian
Chairman.
 1964- Launched sunsilk.
 1967-
Hindustan Level research centre opens in
Mumbai.
 1969- Rin Bar launched.
 1970s

 1972- Unilever acquired Lipton.

 1974- Liril soaps were marketed.
 1977- Lipton Tea (India) Ltd. Was formed
 1977- Indian shareholdings increased to 18.57%
 1978- Indian shareholdings further increased to 34%
 1978-Controversial cream Fair and Lovely was
launched.
 1980s
 1981-Dr. A. S. Ganguly takes over as Chairman from Mr.
T. Thomas; Unilever shareholding in the company comes
down to 51%.
 1982- Government allows 51% shareholding
 1984- Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold through an
international acquisition.
 1986-It joined the Unilever fold through an international
acquisition of Chesebrough Pond's USA.
 1988- Launch of Lipton Taaza Tea.
 Post Liberalisation
 The biggest watershed for HUL was the liberalisation of the Indian economy in
1991.
 Removal of the regulatory framework allowed the company to explore every single
product and opportunity segment, without any constraints on production capacity.
 Deregulation permitted alliances, acquisitions and mergers.
 In one of the most visible and talked about events of India's corporate history, the
erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) merged with HLL, effective from
April 1, 1993.
 In 1996, HUL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited, formed a 50:50 joint
venture, Lakme Unilever Limited, to market Lakme's market-leading cosmetics
and other appropriate products of both the companies.
Major Mergers and Acquisitions in 90s
 The 1990s also witnessed a string of crucial mergers, acquisitions and alliances
on the Foods and Beverages front.
 Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited (BBLIL) merged with HUL, with effect
from January 1, 1996. Here they followed backward integration.
 In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74 per
cent equity in Modern Foods to HUL.
 Project Shakti was started in 2001.
 In 2002, HUL made its foray into Ayurvedic health & beauty centre category
with the Ayush product range and Ayush Therapy Centres.
 The launch of ‘Pureit’ water purifier in 2004.
 In 2007, the Company name was formally changed to Hindustan Unilever
Limited.
 On 15th November, 2010, the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan was officially
launched in India at New Delhi.
 HUL completed 80 years of corporate existence in India on October 17th,
2013.
 In 2016, HUL unveiled ‘Suvidha’ a first-of-its-kind urban water, hygiene and
sanitation community center in Azad Nagar, Ghatkopar, one of the largest
slums in Mumbai.
 In 2018, HUL signed an agreement with Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products
Limited (VDFPL) and its group company to acquire its ice cream and frozen
desserts business.
Controversies Surrounding
HUL
Mercury Poisoning- Kodaikanal Factory
 Originated at a thermometer factory owned by Hindustan Unilever
 Improper disposal of broken thermometer waste containing large quantities of
mercury
 In March, 2001 a public protest led by local workers' union and international
environmental organisation Greenpeace forced the company to shut down the
factory
 In February 2006, a group of ex-employees of the factory approached the
Madras High Court seeking directions for conducting a fresh health survey and
providing economic rehabilitation
 In March 2016, Hindustan Unilever entered into an out of court settlement with
its ex-employees to provide “undisclosed” ex-gratia payment.
 Fair and Lovely
 Marketing campaign of the product has been criticized for promoting colorism
 HUL had to suspend television advertisements for the product in 2007.
 The company’s quarterly figures showed a decrease of 55% in revenue and
52% in units sold.
 Fair & Lovely put out a press release announcing the launch of the Foundation
for the Economic Empowerment of Women with the backing of “prominent
women organisations and achievers
HUL vs. P&G- Battle for the Whitest Wash
 Challenged Tide Natural’s claim in Madras High Court over the use of
‘Natural’ in its name
 P&G was asked by the court to clarify to the customers that it didn’t contain
ingredients that it claimed
 Rin launched a commercial showcasing that it was better and more affordable
than Tide Naturals
 P&G filed a case against HUL, and the latter had to withdraw the
advertisement, by 8th March 2010, as it was a clear case of Disparagement
 Knorr Instant Noodles
 Knorr was a German food and beverage brand acquired by Unilever in 2000
 Decided to recall its Chinese range of 'Knorr' instant noodles from the market
pending product approval from the central food safety regulator FSSAI.
 This came right after the ban on Maggi in June, 2015
 The FSSAI issued an order to test more brands of noodles, pastas and
macaroni. It listed 33 items manufactured by seven companies approved by it
in these categories, wherein HUL’s Chinese range of Knorr instant noodles did
not feature.
 Did not really have any effect on HUL, as it comprised hardly 2% of the
annual revenue
 Brooke Bond Advertisement

 The ad referred to the Kumbh Mela as a place where elderly people get
abandoned by their family members
 Considered as making unsavoury comments on India's glorious cultural
heritage
 Severe backlash in the form of an adverse hashtag trending on Twitter
'#BoycottHindustanUnilever'
 Patanjali Ayurved founder Baba Ramdev also called for the boycott of HUL’s
products
STRENGTHS

 Brand Visibility
 Market Leader
 Innovative FMCG Product
 High Brand Awareness
WEAKNESS

 Decreasing Market Share

 Large
number of brands in different
product categories
OPPORTUNITIES

 Increasing Income Level

 Winning in Channels of Future
 THREATS

 High Competition
 Buyers Power