Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) (BSE: 500696) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods company owned by the

European company Unilever. The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a 52% majority stake. HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as Hindustan Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has an employee strength of over 15,000 employees and contributes to indirect employment of over 52,000 people. The company was renamed in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited. Lever Brothers started its actual operations in India in the summer of 1888, when crates full of Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers" were shipped to the Kolkata harbour and it began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). [2] Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retail outlets across India directly and its products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in the country, nearly 80% of all retail outlets in India. The company claims that two out of three Indians use its many home and personal care products, food and beverages.[3]

Type Industry Founded

Public company BSE: 500696 Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) 1933

Headquarters Mumbai, India Key people Harish Manwani (Chairman), Nitin Paranjpe(CEO and Managing Director) Home & Personal Care, Food & Beverages 19,987.14 crore (US$4.05

Products

Revenue

billion) (2010-2011) [1] Net income Employees 2,305.97 crore (US$467.65 million) Over 65,000 direct & indirect employees Unilever Plc (52%) www.hul.co.in

Parent Website

Brands HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. Sixteen of HULs brands featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2008).[4] According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands in the Most Trusted Brands List. It has consistently had the largest number of brands in the Top 50, and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands). The company has a distribution channel of 6.3 million outlets and owns 35 major Indian brands.[5] Its brands include Kwality Wall's ice cream, Knorr soups & meal makers, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pears, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam and Moti soaps, Pureit water purifier, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond (3 Roses, Taj Mahal, Taaza, Red Label) tea, Bru coffee, Pepsodent and Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes and jams, Annapurna salt and atta, Pond's talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair and Lovely creams, Lakm beauty products, Clear, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk and Dove shampoos, Vim dishwash, Ala bleach, Domex disinfectant, Modern Bread, Axe deosprays and Comfort fabric softeners.

Lux is a global brand developed by Unilever. The range of products includes beauty soaps, shower gels, bath additives, hair shampoos and conditioners. Lux started as Sunlight Flakes laundry soap in 1899. In 1924, it became the first mass market toilet soap in the world. It is noted as a brand that pioneered female celebrity endorsements. As of 2005, Lux revenue is at 1.0 billion euros, with market shares spread out to more than 100 countries across the globe. Today, Lux is the market leader in several countries including Brazil, India, Thailand and South Africa.

Developed by Unilever, Lux (soap) is now headquartered in Singapore.

The brand was founded by the Lever Brothers (today known as Unilever) in 1899. The name changed from Sunlight Flakes to Lux in 1900, a Latin word for light and suggestive of luxury. Lux toilet soap was launched in the United States in 1925 and in the United Kingdom in 1928. Subsequently, Lux soap has been marketed in several forms, including handwash, shower gel and cream bath soap. Since the 1930s, more than 400 of the worlds most famous female celebrities have been associated with Lux. Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Natalie Wood, Brigitte Bardot, Demi Moore, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sarah Jessica Parker and Aishwarya Rai are some actresses featured in Lux advertising campaigns.

Lux Early Beginnings [edit]Early beginnings Luxs early advertising campaigns aimed to educate users about its credentials as a laundry product and appeared in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal. By the early 1920s, it was a hugely successful brand and in 1924, the Lever Brothers conducted a contest that led them to a very interesting finding: women were using Lux as toilet soap.

Lux Building beauty soap credentials [edit]Building beauty soap credentials Introduced in the US in 1924, Lux became the worlds first mass market toilet soap with the tagline made as fine as French Soap. In the first 2 years of launch, Lux concentrated on building its beauty soap credentials. Advertisements offered consumers a beauty soap made in the French method at an affordable price, with the promise of smooth skin. Made with fine-texture, rich in fragrance, and manufactured using a method created in France, the first Lux toilet soap was sold for 10 cents apiece.

Lux Dainty Girls Win Out

Lux 9 out of 10 stars use Lux [edit]1928 1940: 9 out of 10 stars This era saw key launches of LUX in the UK, India, Argentina and Thailand. The brand concentrated on building its association with the increasingly popular movie world, focusing more on movie stars and their roles rather than on the product. In 1929, advertising featured 26 of the biggest female stars of the day, creating a huge impact among the movie-loving target audience. This was followed by Hollywood Directors talking about the importance of smooth and youthful skin. This pioneered the trend of celebrity product endorsements. In 1931, Lux launched a campaign with older stars, I am over 31. The series of print ads had stars talking about preserving youthful skin. Lux also launched campaigns featuring interviews with Stars and Close Ups of Stars, bringing to life the 9 out of 10 idea. In 1934, Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcasted on the NBC Blue Network (1934-35); CBS (1935-54) and NBC (1954-55). During the broadcast, various female stars would tout Lux Flakes as well as commercials during breaks.

Lux Romancing the consumer, Deanna Durbin [edit]40s & 50s: Romancing the consumer Using movie star as role models, Luxs strategy was to build relevance by looking at beauty through the consumers eyes. While still retaining the star element, the focus shifted to the consumer and the role of the brand in her life. Advertising commercials showed ordinary looking women with direct references to stars, such as Deanna Durbin.

Lux Romancing the brand [edit]60s: Romancing the brand The 60s saw a shift in advertising to product stories and the romanticizing of brand through its sensorial & emotional dimensions. This was the era of the film star feeling and the Golden Lux, featuring stars such as Sandra Dee, Diana Rigg and Samantha Eggar.

The bathing ritual, the fantasy element that has been the imagery of Lux, was created in this era. The brand also moved forward with launching LUX in the Middle East, entering a more conservative market. [edit]70s: Dimensionalizing beauty Reflecting the shift in beauty trends in the 70s, the Lux stars stepped down from their pedestals and were portrayed as multi-faceted women with natural, wholesome beauty that the ordinary consumer could relate and aspire to. The executions were more of a day in the life of the stars with focus on their natural beauty. Stars included Brigitte Bardot and Natalie Wood. [edit]80s: Owning the category space Establishing itself as THE beauty soap for stars and beautiful women, the 80s emphasized the importance of skin care the first step to beauty. LUX was launched in China at this time. Sophia Loren, Raquel Welch and Cheryl Ladd were some famous celebrities used during this time. [edit]90s Early 2000s: Advanced skin benefits In the 90s, Lux moved from generic beauty benefits to focus on specific benefits and transformation. More emphasis on functionality and variant associations with different skin types as well as mention of ingredients. The communication was far more regional specific and localized, using stars like Malu Mader and Debora Bloch. This period launched product brand extensions Shower Cream and Gels and Lux Super Rich Shampoo in Japan and China. [edit]2000s: Beyond movie stars In early 2000, the focus shifted from specific skin benefits to a stronger emotional space. The brand provided the link between the aspirational role models and real life with the campaign, Lux brings out the star in you. The benefit was now more than just beauty, it was also about the confidence that comes from beautiful skin. In 2005, Lux encouraged women to celebrate and indulge their femininity with the Play with Beauty philosophy, with stars like Aishwarya Rai. The brand also connected with consumers to take a more active stance on beauty. From 2008, building off the brands root strengths, focus has shifted to beauty (vs. femininity), appealing to consumers fantasies and aspirations. Lux believes that beauty is a female instinct that shouldnt be denied and showcases the pleasure that every woman enjoys from using her beauty, encapsulating that idea in a simple phrase: Declare your beauty. Today, LUX products are manufactured at 71 locations with more than 2000 suppliers and associates providing the raw materials. It has key markets in Pakistan, Brazil, USA, China, Bangladesh and South Africa, and is a market leader in India (for soap bars), Brazil, Saudi Arabia (for soap bars), Bangladesh and Thailand.

Pureit is a range of water purifiers made by Hindustan Unilever currently sold in India, Mexico, Brazil, Sri lanka, Nigeria, Indonesia and Bangladesh, consisting of six models: Pureit Classic, Pureit Compact, Pureit Classic Autofill, Pureit Intella, Pureit Marvella and Pureit Marvella RO.[1] Pureit was first launched in Chennai in 2004. Pureit claims to meet the E.P.A. germ-kill criteria. Pureit Classic removes germs without needing electricity or pressurised tap water. Pureit Classic costs Rs. 2000. [edit]Purification

Pureit consists of four parts that purify the water in four stages: a 'microfibre mesh', a 'compact carbon trap', a 'germkill processor' and a 'polisher', as branded by Hindustan Unilever. For the Pureit Marvella model, the microfibre mesh has been rebranded as a 'pleated filter', while the compact carbon trap has been rebranded as an 'activated carbon filter', along with a prefix of 'unique'. The microfibre mesh functions as a sieve, filtering out visible dirt. The carbon trap removes parasites and pesticides. The processor is a tablet consisting of chlorine. This stage removes bacteria and viruses. The polisher improves taste and clarity of water and removes the residual form of chlorine from the water. These four parts are collectively branded the germkill kit or the battery. This battery needs continual replacing, as indicated by a germkill battery indicator visible on the front of the device. Pureit also features an 'auto switch off' mechanism whereby the filter prevents the flow of water following the consumption of the germkill kit. This kit itself comes in various models. The model of the germkill kit determines how much water it can purify before the kit needs replacing. There are currently four germkill kits available, ranging from 2250 litres for Rs. 510 to a 1000 litre kit available for Rs. 270.[2] The germkill kit is designed to work at 25 C in moderately humid conditions. The volume specified by the germkill battery assumes these conditions. The germkill kit has an expiry date of three years from the date of packaging.

Brooke Bond is a brand-name of tea owned by Unilever, formerly an independent manufacturer in the United Kingdom, known for its PG Tips brand and its Brooke Bond tea cards. [edit]History

Brooke Bond & Company was founded by Arthur Brooke who was born at 6 George Street, Ashtonunder-Lyne, Lancashire, England in 1845. He opened his first tea shop in 1869 at 23 Market Street, Manchester, Lancashire. There was never a "Mr Bond"; Arthur Brooke chose the name simply because it sounded pleasing to his ears. In the 1950s and 1960s, packets of Brooke Bond tea included illustrated tea cards, usually 50 in a series, which were collected by many children. One of the most famous illustrators of these cards was Charles Tunnicliffe, the internationally acclaimed bird painter. Most of the initial series were

wildlife-based, including 'British Wild Animals', 'British Wild Flowers', 'African Wild Life', 'Asian Wild Life', and 'Tropical Birds'. From the late 1960s, they included historical subjects, such as 'British Costume', 'History of the Motor Car', and 'Famous Britons'. Complete sets and albums in good condition are now highly sought-after collectors' items. The inclusion of these cards in packets of tea ceased in 1999. There were well over 200 series issued and many of them have since been reprinted. A comprehensive list of the these series can be found at the London Cigarette Card Company The most famous brand of Brooke Bond was PG Tips, launched in 1930. The company merged with Liebig in 1968, becoming Brooke Bond Liebig, which was acquired by Unilever in 1984. The Brooke Bond name has since been dropped for all external communication by Unilever in the UK. However Gold Crown Foods Ltd is licensed by Unilever to use the Brooke Bond name for the Brooke Bond 'D' and Brooke Bond Choicest brands.[1] The Brooke Bond brand is still used in other countries, especially in India. In Pakistan, Brooke Bond Supreme is the number-one-selling tea brand. Unilever markets it as a being stronger than its Lipton Yellow Label blend. The Brooke Bond factory is at Trafford Park near Manchester, although this is separate from Gold Crown Food's factory in Liverpool.

Lakm Cosmetics

Lakm is an Indian brand of cosmetics, owned by Unilever. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills (Tomco), part of the Tata Group; it was named after the French opera Lakm, which itself is the French form of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, also renowned for her beauty. Indian cosmet Lakme was started in 1952, famously because the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was concerned that Indian women were spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products, and personally requested JRD Tata to manufacture them in India. Simone Tata joined the company as director, and went on to become its chairman. In 1996 Tata sold off their stakes in Lakm Lever to HLL, for Rs 200 Crore[1](45 million US$), and went on to create Trent and Westside. Even today, when most multinational beauty products are available in India, Lakme still occupies a special place in the hearts of Indian women.[citation needed] Lakme also started its new business in the beauty industry by setting up Lakme Beauty Salons all over India. Now HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has about 110 salons all over India providing beauty services.

Vaseline (pronounced /vslin/ or /vzlin/) is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants. The Vaseline name is considered generic in Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries, where the Unilever products are called Vasenol.

History

The first known reference to the name Vaseline was by the inventor of petroleum jelly, Robert Chesebrough in his U.S. patent for the process of making petroleum jelly (U.S. Patent 127,568) in 1872. "I, Robert Chesebrough, have invented a new and useful product from petroleum which I have named Vaseline...". The word is believed to come from German Wasser (water) + Greek *elaion+ (oil) + scientificsounded ending -ine.[1] In 1859, Chesebrough went to the oil fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania, and learned of a residue called "rod wax" that had to be periodically removed from oil rig pumps. The oil workers had been using the substance to heal cuts and burns. Chesebrough took samples of the rod wax back to Brooklyn, extracted the usable petroleum jelly, and began manufacturing the medicinal product he called Vaseline.[2] Vaseline was made by the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company until the company was purchased by Unilever in 1987.

Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever group, which is now considered the world's leading company in hair conditioning and the second largest in shampoo*1+. Sunsilk is Unilevers leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate's billion dollar brands". Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide. Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world including Elidor, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in India, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand

Kwality Wall's is a major producer and distributor of ice cream and other dessert products in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. It is a company of Hindustan Lever Limited, the arm of Unilever in India, and is an extension of the Wall's ice cream brand of Great Britain. Kwality, the original Indian company, was founded in 1956, and was the first in the region to import machinery for the mass production and sale of ice cream on a commercial scale. In 1995, in view of the growth potential of the frozen confections market, Kwality entered into an agreement with Lever, and has since been known by its current umbrella name. At the same time, other brands acquired by Hindustan Lever, such as Gaylord-Milkfood, were phased out in favour of promoting the Kwality Wall's brand. This arrangement allows for local production and sale of Wall's products that are popular in its home market, such as the Cornetto cone, and to create local variations on others, such as the Feast Jaljeera Blast.

Surf is the name of a brand of laundry detergent made by Unilever and sold in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa and many other countries. In the United States the Surf product line is owned by Sun Products. The brand Omo was used when it was introduced in Australia and New Zealand but in Australia, Surf as well as Omo are sold and they are both top- selling laundry detergents in Australia[citation needed]. Surf was introduced in 1959 after Rinso, formerly Lever's best selling detergent brand, had declined in both sales and market share