A multinational corporation, formed of British and Dutch parentage, that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.
Unilever was created in 1930 by the amalgamation of the operations of British soapmaker Lever Brothers (founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James) and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie (grew in the 1920s through mergers of several margarine companies), a merger as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities.
Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever NV in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. Both Unilever companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business.
