Unilever has a history that goes back to the 1880s where William Hesketh Lever founded the Lever Brothers Limited a family grocery business. Later on, he started a soap-making factory in Merseyside called Port Sunlight. The company grew and by 1890 Lever had soap factories around Europe, the USA, and Canada. just to mention few.

While Lever Brothers were creating their empire, two family-owned businesses Jurgens (margarine selling family business) and Van der Bergh (butter merchants) were also creating strategies to get ahead of their competitors.

• 

The two companies came together in 1908 to join forces and fight the weak margarine market. In 1927 Jurgens and Van der Bergh as well as Schicht, Centra and Jbusinesses formed Margarine Unie. This union was mainly composed of European businesses that were involved in the production of goods made mainly from oils and fats.

In 1929 Margarine Unie amalgamated with Lever Brothers Limited and on 1 January 1930 Univelever was officially formed. The company went on to release popular products such as Blue Band margarine, Dove, and Lifebuoy washing soap. While in the 1900s Unilever had over 50 product categories, it structured and focused on four main business areas: Personal care, home care, foods, and specialty chemicals.

Edited By Rodgers Ouma