Hindustan Unilever Limited was incorporated on October 20, 1933 as 'Lever Brothers India Limited'. In 1956, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company Limited and United Traders Limited merged with the Company and the name was changed from Lever Brothers Limited to Hindustan Lever Limited. In June 2007, the Company changed its name from Hindustan Lever Limited to Hindustan Unilever Limited. The Company is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods company with its products touching the lives of nine out of ten households in the country. The Company is in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business comprising primarily into four business segments such as, home care, personal care, foods and refreshments. Soaps and detergents include soaps, detergent bars, detergent powders and scourers. Personal products include products in the categories of oral care, skin care (excluding soaps), hair care, talcum powder and color cosmetics. Beverages include tea and coffee. Foods include staples (atta, salt and bread) and culinary products (tomato-based products, fruit-based products and soups). Ice creams include ice creams and frozen desserts. Others include chemicals and water business.
HUL's product portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Vaseline, Lakme, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall's and Pureit. HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and an annual sales turnover of 52.7 billion in 2016.
Company acquired Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Ltd was incorporated. Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an international acquisition. Pond's (India) Ltd joined the Unilever fold through an internation