Hindustan Unilever

Hindustan Unilever Limited
TypePublic company
ISININE030A01027
IndustryFast-moving consumer goods
PredecessorIndian Vanaspati Manufacturing Company (1931–1956)
Lever Brothers India Limited (1933–1956)
United Traders Limited (1935–1956)
Hindustan Lever Limited (1956–2007)
Founded1933; 93 years ago (1933)
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
,
India
Key peoplePriya Nair (CEO and MD)
Products
RevenueIncrease ₹694 billion (US$7.4 billion) (2026)
Increase ₹150 billion (US$1.6 billion) (2026)
Increase ₹151 billion (US$1.6 billion) (2026)
Total assetsDecrease ₹798 billion (US$8.5 billion) (2026)
Total equityDecrease ₹487 billion (US$5.2 billion) (2026)
Number of employees
26,667 (2025) (including 18,465 workers)
ParentUnilever (61.90%)
Websitewww.hul.co.in

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products and other consumer staples.

The company was established in India in 1931 as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co. Following a merger of constituent groups in 1956, it was renamed Hindustan Lever Limited. The company was renamed again in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited.

Hindustan Unilever has been at the helm of a lot of controversies, such as dumping highly toxic mercury-contaminated waste in regular dumps, contaminating the land and water of Kodaikanal. (See: Kodaikanal mercury poisoning). The British-Dutch company also faced major flak for an advertising campaign covering the Hindu pilgrimage site at Kumbh Mela in a negative light, calling it a "place where old people get abandoned," a move that was termed racist and insensitive.

In December 2018 HUL announced its acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline India's consumer business for US$3.8 billion in an all-equity merger deal with a 1:4.39 ratio. However, the integration of GSK's 3,800 employees remained uncertain as HUL stated there was no clause for retention of employees in the deal. In April 2020, HUL completed its merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) after completing all legal procedures.

Presence

Hindustan Unilever's corporate headquarters are located in Andheri, Mumbai. The campus is spread over 12.5 acres of land and houses over 1,600 employees. The Campus is designed by Mumbai-based architecture firm Kapadia Associates.

The company's previous headquarters were located in Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai at the Lever House, where it was housed for more than 46 years.

The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre (HURC) was set up in 1966 in Mumbai, and Unilever Research India in Bangalore in 1997. In 2006, the company's research facilities were brought together at a single site in Bangalore.

Kodaikanal Lake, one of the most popular tourist attractions in South India, was contaminated following Unilever's illegal dumping of mercury.

Controversies

Mercury pollution

In 2001 a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal run by Hindustan Unilever dumped glass contaminated with mercury and selling it to scrap merchants. Protests by local NGOs and Greenpeace lead to the shutting of the factory in March 2001. The issue has since snowballed into a controversy impacting the reputation of the company and led to a series of regulatory and legal confrontations. The issue was eventually resolved in 2016 through an out of court settlement between the company and the affected ex-workers.

Awards

In 2014, Hindustan Unilever Limited received Porter Prize for Creating Shared Value, awarded by the Institute for Competitiveness, India. It ranked number one on the Forbes list of ‘Most Innovative Companies’ globally for 2014. It also received an award as a 'Conscious Capitalist of the Year' at the 2013 Forbes India Leadership Awards. Unilever was named the fourth most respected company in India in a survey conducted by Business World in 2013.

In a 2015 Nielsen campus track-business school survey, Hindustan Unilever was among the top employers of choice for B-school students graduating that year. It has often been called a 'Dream Employer' for application by B-School students in India. In 2012, it was recognised as one of the world's most innovative companies by Forbes. With a ranking of number 6, it was the highest ranked FMCG company.

HUL is one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognised as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the Government of India.

Brands and products

HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos among others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. Sixteen of HUL's brands featured in the Nielsen Corporation Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2014), carried out by Brand Equity, a supplement of The Economic Times.

Food

Homecare

  • Active wheel detergent
  • Cif cream cleaner
  • Comfort fabric softeners
  • Domex disinfectant/toilet cleaner
  • Love & Care wash care
  • Nature Protect disinfectant surface cleaner
  • Rin detergents and bleach
  • Sunlight detergent and colour care
  • Surf Excel detergent and gentle wash
  • Vim dishwash
  • Magic – Water Saver

Source:

Personal care

  • Aviance Beauty Solutions
  • Axe deodorant, aftershave lotion and soap
  • Lever Ayush Therapy ayurvedic health care and personal care products
  • International Breeze
  • Brylcreem hair cream and hair gel
  • Clear anti-dandruff hair products
  • Clinic Plus shampoos and oils
  • Close-Up toothpastes
  • Dove skin & hair care range: bar, lotions, creams and anti-perspirant deodorants
  • Denim shaving products
  • Dermalogica
  • Elle 18
  • Find Your Happy Place
  • Glow and Lovely, skin lightening cream
  • Hamam soaps
  • Indulekha Ayurvedic soaps, shampoos, hair oils
  • Lakmé beauty products and salons
  • Lifebuoy soaps, Hand Sanitizers and handwashes
  • Liril 2000 soap
  • Lux soap, body wash and deodorant
  • Nature Protect
  • Pears soap, body wash
  • Pepsodent toothpastes
  • Pond's talcs and Cosmetics
  • Rexona Deodarants
  • Sunsilk shampoo
  • Sure anti-perspirant
  • V Wash feminine wash
  • Vaseline petroleum jelly, skincare lotions
  • TRESemmé
  • TIGI

Source:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Priya Nair: First Woman CEO of Hindustan Unilever in 92 Years; to Take Charge on August 1". 11 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hindustan Unilever Annual Reports" (PDF). hul.co.in.
  3. ↑ "https://www.hul.co.in/files/integrated-annual-report-2024-25.pdf"
  4. ↑ "Introduction to HUL". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. HUL. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Srinivasan, Lalitha (31 July 2007). "Transition to new name was smooth: HUL". Mumbai: The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Hindustan Unilever faces flak over Red Label ad showing son 'abandoning' father at Kumbh Mela". cnbctv18.com. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "#BoycottHindustanUnilever Trends After Ad On Kumbh Mela Faces Criticism". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "GSK Consumer Healthcare to merge with Hindustan Unilever: Here are 10 things you should know". www.businesstoday.in. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  9. 1 2 "HUL-GSK deal: 3,800 employees face uncertainty, decision awaited". www.businesstoday.in. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "HUL expects to complete merger with GSK Consumer Healthcare in 2019". Medical Dialogues. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  11. ↑ "HUL moves to new campus | 2010 | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Designed for leverage – Livemint". livemint.com. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Atlas Integrated Finance Ltd". Aifl.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  14. ↑ Overview of Research Centres on official website. Retrieved 12 August 2010 Archived 19 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "Prevent mercury pollution". The Hindu. 29 September 2016 [23 August 2007]. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  16. ↑ Jayaraman, Nityanand (April 2001). "Unilever's Dumping Fever". Multinational Monitor. Archived from the original on 27 July 2001. Retrieved 31 October 2013. – via Ban.org.
  17. ↑ "Greenpeace wants probe into Kodaikanal mercury pollution". Times of India. 30 June 2002. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  18. ↑ Hiddleston, Sarah (24 September 2010). "Poisoned Ground". Frontline. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  19. ↑ Jayaraman, Nityanand (31 July 2010). "One gram mercury can kill a 25-acre lake. A plant has leached mercury for 10 years into Kodai". Tehelka Magazine. Anant Media Pvt. Ltd. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Professor Michael E. Porter addressed the gathering at Porter Prize 2014 – Institute for Competitiveness". 29 September 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  21. ↑ "The World's most innovative companies". forbes. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Conscious Capitalist of the Year". ForbesIndia. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  23. ↑ "Most Respected Company in India". Businessworld. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014.
  24. ↑ Basu, Sreeradha D (13 February 2013). "Grooming people is in our genes, says HUL's Paranjpe". Economictimes. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Hindustan Unilever Limited has emerged as the No.1 employer of choice for B-School students". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  26. ↑ Choudhary, Vidhi (12 February 2013). "FMCG, management firms most preferred campus recruiters: Nielsen". LiveMint. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Advertising is the industry of the future: Nielson B-School Survey". Exchange4Media. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013.
  28. ↑ Saraswathy, M. (13 February 2013). "HUL is employer of choice: Nielsen". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  29. ↑ "The World's Most Innovative Companies". Forbes. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  30. ↑ "Hindustan Unilever Ltd Background details about Company Profile". Indiainfoline.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  31. ↑ "Most Trusted Brands 2014". Economic Times. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  32. ↑ "Hellmann's". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Magnum Ice-cream". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "Cornetto". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  35. ↑ "Horlicks". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  36. ↑ "Nature Protect". Hindustan Unilever official website. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  37. ↑ "Magic – Water Saver". Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  38. ↑ "Magic – Water Saver". The Times of India. 25 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  39. ↑ "Home care brands | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  40. ↑ "TRESemmé". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  41. ↑ "Personal care brands | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.