Hindustan Unilever

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is an Indian consumer goods company headquartered in Mumbai, India.[3] It is a subsidiary of Unilever, a British company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products, water purifiers and other fast-moving consumer goods.

Hindustan Unilever Limited
TypePublic
ISININE030A01027
IndustryConsumer goods
PredecessorHindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company (1931–1956)
Lever Brothers India Limited (1933–1956)
United Traders Limited (1935–1956)
Hindustan Lever Limited (1956–2007)
Founded1933 (1933)
Headquarters
Mumbai
,
India
Key people
Sanjiv Mehta (CEO)[1]
ProductsFoods, cleaning agents, personal care, skin care and water purifiers
Revenue ₹40,415 crore (US$5.7 billion) (2020)[2]
₹9,291 crore (US$1.3 billion) (2020)[2]
₹6,764 crore (US$950 million) (2020)[2]
Total assets ₹20,153 crore (US$2.8 billion) (2020)[2]
Total equity ₹7,998 crore (US$1.1 billion) (2020)[2]
Number of employees
21,000 (2020)[2]
ParentUnilever plc (61.90%)
Websitehul.co.in

HUL was established in 1931 as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co. and following a merger of constituent groups in 1956, it was renamed Hindustan Lever Limited. The company was renamed in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited.[4]

As of 2019 Hindustan Unilever's portfolio had 35 product brands in 20 categories. The company has 18,000 employees and clocked sales of ₹34,619 crores in FY2017–18.[3]

In December 2018, HUL announced its acquisition of GlaxoSmithkline's India business for $3.8 billion in an all equity merger deal with a 1:4.39 ratio.[5][6] 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.[6] In April 2020, HUL completed its merger with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH India) after completing all legal procedures.[7]

Headquarters

Hindustan Unilever's corporate headquarters are located at Andheri, Mumbai. The campus is spread over 12.5 acres of land and houses over 1,600 employees. Some of the facilities available for the employees include a convenience store, a food court, an occupational health centre, a gym, a sports & recreation centre and a day care centre.[8] The Campus is designed by Mumbai-based architecture firm Kapadia Associates.[9]

The campus received a certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)[10] Gold in the 'New Construction' category, by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Hyderabad, under licence from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC)

The company's previous headquarters was located at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai at the Lever House, where it was housed for more than 46 years.[11]

Research facilities
Unilever R&D Centre in Bangalore

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.[12]

Sustainable living

Unilever launched Sustainable Living Plan in on 15 November 2010 at London, Rotterdam, New York and New Delhi simultaneously.[13]

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 amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. Sixteen of HUL's brands featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2014), carried out by Brand Equity, a supplement of The Economic Times.[14]

Food

Homecare
  • Active Wheel detergent
  • Cif Cream Cleaner
  • Comfort fabric softeners
  • Domex disinfectant/toilet cleaner
  • Rin detergents and bleach
  • Sunlight detergent and colour care
  • Surf Excel detergent and gentle wash
  • Vim dishwash
  • Magic – Water Saver[17][18]

Source:[19]

Personal care
  • Aviance Beauty Solutions
  • Axe deodorant and aftershaving 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 shampoo and oil
  • Close Up toothpaste
  • Dove skin cleansing & hair care range: bar, lotions, creams and anti-perspirant deodorants
  • Denim shaving products
  • Glow and Lovely, skin lightening cream
  • Hamam
  • Indulekha ayurvedic hair oil
  • Lakmé beauty products and salons
  • Lifebuoy soaps and handwash range
  • Liril 2000 soap
  • Lux soap, body wash and deodorant
  • Pears soap, body wash
  • Pepsodent toothpaste
  • Pond's talcs and creams
  • Rexona
  • Sunsilk shampoo
  • Sure anti-perspirant
  • Vaseline petroleum jelly, skin care lotions
  • TRESemmé[20]
  • TIGI

Source:[21]

Water purifier
  • Pureit

Controversies

Mercury pollution
Main article: Kodaikanal mercury poisoning

In 2001 a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal run by Hindustan Unilever was accused of dumping glass contaminated with mercury in municipal dumps, and selling it on to scrap merchants unable to deal with it appropriately.[22] Protests by local NGOs and Greenpeace lead to the shutting of the factory in March 2001.[23] After protest by activists led by Deepak Malghan of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Hindustan Unilever admitted before court to being guilty in the case in 2010.[24][25]

Skin lightening creams
Main article: Glow & Lovely (cosmetics)

Hindustan Unilever's "Glow & Lovely" is the leading skin-lightening cream for women in India.[26] The company had to cease television advertisements for the product in 2007. Advertisements depicted depressed, dark-complexioned women, who had been ignored by employers and men, suddenly finding new boyfriends and glamorous careers after the cream had lightened their skin.[27] In 2008 Hindustan Unilever made former Miss World Priyanka Chopra a brand ambassador for Pond's,[28] and she then appeared in a mini-series of television commercials for another skin lightening product, 'White Beauty', alongside Saif Ali Khan and Neha Dhupia; these advertisements, showing Priyanka's face with a clearly darker complexion against the visibly fairer Neha Dhupia, were widely criticised for perpetuating racism[29] and lowering the self-esteem of women and girls throughout India who were misled by HULN to believe that they needed to be white to be beautiful. The company rebranded the cream from Fair and Lovely to Glow and Lovely, removing the word Fair from the brand.

Triclosan

Several academic papers have pointed out the firm's continued use of the antibacterial agent Triclosan ('Active B') in India because it is under review by the American Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).[30]

Kumbh Mela ad

In March 2019 HUL's advertisement for its beverage Brooke Bond Red Label tea was criticised on social media. A company tweet referred to the Kumbh Mela as a place where elderly people get abandoned by their family members.[31][32] This resulted in a severe backlash in the form of an adverse hashtag trending on Twitter '#BoycottHindustanUnilever'.[33]

Awards

The Institute of Competitiveness, India, has recognized Hindustan Unilever Limited's Project Shakti for ‘Creating Shared Value’ and bestowed upon the company the Porter Prize for 2014.[34] It ranked number one on the Forbes list of ‘Most Innovative Companies’ across the globe for 2014[35] and was ranked number three on Fortune India's list of India's most admired companies in a list compiled with the help of a global management consultancy Hay Group.[36] It received an award from Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Awards in 2014.[37] and was Client of the Year at Effies 2013 – 2014.[38] It also received an award as a 'Conscious Capitalist of the Year' at the 2013 Forbes India Leadership Awards.[39] HUL won 12 awards overall with 4 Golds, 4 Silvers and 4 Bronzes at the 2013 Emvies Awards.[40] In 2013, HUL ranked number two on the on Fortune India's 2013 '50 Most Admired Companies list'.[41] and was declared the fourth most Respected Company in India in a survey conducted by Business World in 2013.[42]

As per a 2015 Nielsen Campus Track-business school survey, Hindustan Unilever emerged 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.[43][44][45][46][47]

In 2012, HUL 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.[48] Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) won the first prize at FICCI Water Awards 2012 under the category of 'community initiatives by industry' for Gundar Basin Project, a water conservationist initiative.[49] Hindustan Unilever Limited won 13 awards at the Emvies 2012 Media Awards organised by the Advertising Club Bombay in September 2012.[50]

The company received four awards at the Spikes Asia Awards 2012, held in September. The awards included one Grand Prix one Gold Award and two Silver Awards.[51]

HUL's Chhindwara Unit won the National Safety Award for outstanding performance in Industrial Safety. These awards were instituted by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment in 1965.[52]

HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured on the Forbes list of World's Most Reputed companies in 2007.[53]

In July 2012 Hindustan Unilever Limited won the Golden Peacock Occupational Health and Safety Award for 2012 in the FMCG category for its safety and health initiatives and continuous improvement on key metrics.[54]

Hindustan Unilever Limited is rated as best 3Ci Company which is registered with National Industrial Classification Code 15140.[55]

Pond's Talcum Powder's packaging innovation has secured a Silver Award at the prestigious 24th DuPont Global Packaging Award, in May 2012. The brand was recognized for cost and waste reduction.[56]

In May 2012, HUL & Star Bazaar received the silver award for 'Creating Consumer Value through Joint Promotional and Event Forecasting' at the 13th ECR Efficient Consumer Response Asia Pacific Conference.[57]

In 2011, HUL was named the most innovative company in India by Forbes and ranked 6th in the top 10 list of most innovative companies in the world.[58]

Hindustan Unilever Ltd received the National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2011 of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for excellence in corporate governance.[59]

In 2012, Hindustan Unilever emerged as the No. 1 employer of choice for B-School students who will graduate in 2012. In addition, HUL also retained the 'Dream Employer' status for the 3rd year running.[60]

Hindustan Unilever ranked No. 2 in Fortune India's Most Admired Companies list, which was released by Fortune India in partnership with the Hay Group. The company received the highest scores for endurance and financial soundness.[61]

HUL was ranked 47th in The Brand Trust Report 2014 published by Trust Research Advisory. 36 HUL brands also featured in the list including Lux, Dove, Lipton, Vim, Kissan, Bru, Rexona, Close Up, Clinic Plus, Pond's, Knorr, and Pepsodent among others.[62]

HUL emerged as the top 'Dream Employer' as well as the top company considered for application in the annual B-School Survey conducted by Nielsen in November 2010. This was the second successive year that HUL has been rated as the top 'Dream Employer' in India.[63] HUL has also emerged as the top employer of choice among the top six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMA, B, C, L, K and I).

HUL won three awards at the 'CNBC Awaaz Storyboard Consumer Awards' in 2011 – Most Recommended FMCG Company of the Year; Most Consumer Conscious Company of the Year and Digital Marketer of the Year.[64]

The company was felicitated in April 2010 for receiving the highest number of patents in the year 2009 at Annual Intellectual Property Awards 2010.[65][11]

In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the past 25 years by Businessworld, one of India's leading business magazines.[66] The rating was based on a compilation of the magazine's annual survey of India's most reputed companies over the past 25 years.

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.[67]

See also

Notes
  1. "The Board of HUL". hul.co.in. HUL. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. "Hindustan Unilever Annual Reports" (PDF). hul.co.in.
  3. "Introduction to HUL". HUL. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. Srinivasan, Lalitha (31 July 2007). "Transition to new name was smooth: HUL". Mumbai: The Financial Express. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  5. "GSK Consumer Healthcare to merge with Hindustan Unilever: Here are 10 things you should know". www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  6. "HUL-GSK deal: 3,800 employees face uncertainty, decision awaited". www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. "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.
  8. "HUL moves to new campus | 2010 | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. "Designed for leverage - Livemint". livemint.com. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  10. "HUL Mumbai campus receives LEED India Gold Certification". Indiainfoline.com. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  11. "Atlas Integrated Finance Ltd". Aifl.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  12. Overview of Research Centres on official website. Retrieved 12 August 2010 Archived 19 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Julia Finch, Business editor (15 November 2010). "Unilever unveils ambitious long term sustainability programme | Business". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  14. "Most Trusted Brands 2014". Economic Times. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  15. "Magnum Ice-cream". Economic Times. 29 March 2013.
  16. "Horlicks". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  17. "Magic – Water Saver".
  18. "Magic – Water Saver". The Times of India. 25 June 2012.
  19. "Home care brands | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  20. "TRESemmé". Hindustan Unilever.
  21. "Personal care brands | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  22. 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.
  23. "Greenpeace wants probe into Kodaikanal mercury pollution". Times of India. 30 June 2002.
  24. Hiddleston, Sarah (24 September 2010). "Poisoned Ground". Frontline. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  25. 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.
  26. Anushay Hossain, The Color Complex: Is the Fixation Really Fair?, Sapna, 10 March 2008
  27. Dhillon, Amrit (1 July 2007). "India's hue and cry over paler skin". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  28. Priyanka Chopra is the new face of Ponds, Thaindian News, 6 May 2008
  29. Criticism in India over skin-whitening trend, The Daily Telegraph, 10 July 2008
  30. See for example Cross, Jamie; Street, Alice (August 2009) [2008]. "Anthropology at the Bottom of the Pyramid" (PDF). Anthropology Today. 25 (4): 4–9. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8322.2009.00675.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2012. Reprinted in Callan, Hilary; Street, Brian; Underdown, Simon, eds. (March 2013). Introductory Readings In Anthropology. Berghahn Books & The Royal Anthological Institute. pp. 232–40. ISBN 9780857459688.
  31. Ambwani, Meenakshi Verma. "HUL in deep water over Kumbh-theme ad". @businessline.
  32. "Hindustan Unilever faces backlash for calling Kumbh Mela 'place where old people get abandoned'". www.businesstoday.in.
  33. "#BoycottHindustanUnilever Trends After Ad On Kumbh Mela Faces Criticism". NDTV.com.
  34. "Award Descriptions & Winners 2014". porterprize. 31 October 2014.
  35. "The Worlds most innovative companies". forbes. 31 October 2014.
  36. "Most Admired Companies". haygroup. 31 October 2014.
  37. "Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Awards 2014". Dun & Bradstreet. 31 October 2014.
  38. "Effie India's 2014 Gala". effie. 31 October 2014.
  39. "Conscious Capitalist of the Year". ForbesIndia. 31 October 2013.
  40. "2013 Emvies Awards". Hul.co.in. 18 September 2013.
  41. "50 Most Admired Companies list". exchange4media. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013.
  42. "Most Respected Company in India". Businessworld. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014.
  43. Basu, Sreeradha D (13 February 2013). "Grooming people is in our genes, says HUL's Paranjpe". Economictimes.
  44. "Hindustan Unilever Limited has emerged as the No.1 employer of choice for B-School students". Hindustan Unilever.
  45. Choudhary, Vidhi (12 February 2013). "FMCG, management firms most preferred campus recruiters: Nielsen". LiveMint.
  46. "Advertising is the industry of the future: Nielson B-School Survey". Exchange4Media. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013.
  47. Saraswathy, M. (13 February 2013). "HUL is employer of choice: Nielsen". Business Standard.
  48. "The World's Most Innovative Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  49. "HUL, Tata Chemicals, six others bag FICCI Water Awards". Indiawaterreview.in. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  50. "HUL Brands sweep 13 awards at Emvies 2012 | 2012 | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  51. "Medal Winners" (PDF). Spikes Asia 2012 Festival of Creativity. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2012.
  52. "HUL wins four awards at Spikes Asia 2012 | 2012 | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  53. "The World's Most Reputed Companies". Forbes.com. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  54. "Hindustan Unilever Limited won the Golden Peacock Occupational Health and Safety Award". Hindustan Unilever Limited. 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  55. "Hindustan Unilever Limited 3Ci Rating". 3Ci. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  56. "Pond's Talcum Powder's packaging innovation has bagged a Silver Award at the prestigious 24th DuPont Global Packaging Award". DuPont. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  57. "HUL & Star Bazaar bagged the silver award for 'Creating Consumer Value through Joint Promotional and Event Forecasting'". Hindustan Unilever. 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  58. "The World's Most Innovative Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  59. "HUL, GAIL gets ICSI governance excellence awards". India Times. 23 December 2011.
  60. "FMCG sector most preferred by B-school students: Nielsen Report". India Times. 10 January 2012.
  61. "Tata Steel, HUL, Colgate Palmolive in Fortune's most admired companies list". AFAQS.com.
  62. "India's Most Trusted Brands 2014". Archived from the original on 2 May 2015.
  63. "Hindustan Unilever is 'Dream Employer' in India for second successive year". Hindustan Unilever. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  64. "Pepsi wins Ad Campaign of the Year at CNBC Awaaz Storyboard Consumer Awards 2011". Campaign India. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  65. "HUL wins Annual Intellectual Property Award | 2010 | Hindustan Unilever". Hindustan Unilever. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  66. "Business World - The Other 7 - Shock and Awe". businessworld.in. p. 2. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  67. "Hindustan Unilever Ltd Background details about Company Profile". Indiainfoline.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
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