Knorr is owned by Unilever (the United Kingdom, LSE: ULVR), which acquired the brand on 4 October 2000 from Bestfoods, as part of a $24.3 billion deal that also included Hellmann's and Maizena.[1][2] Before Unilever, Knorr was owned by Bestfoods to 2000.[1]
Knorr was founded in Heilbronn, Germany in 1838 and built its business on dried soups and bouillon. It passed to Unilever with the Bestfoods acquisition in 2000 and is sold in more than 80 countries.
What Unilever's annual report says about Knorr
Sentences about Knorr from Unilever's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
Knorr's softer performance in developed markets was offset by positive volume and price in emerging markets.
Knorr continues to evolve its portfolio through innovation and product superiority.
In addition, Knorr tapped into the growing demand for smart cooking and eating, expanding mini-meals with ready-to-heat pots inspired by trending global cuisines.
How often Unilever names Knorr in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
The USPTO record for the Knorr mark lists Knorr-Nährmittel Aktiengesellschaft as the owner of record (serial number 77568582). A trademark is often held by a group company rather than the listed parent, so the registrant's name can differ from the owner named above.[5]
Unilever is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1929. Brandtree records 53 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: ULVR, NYSE: UL and AEX: UNA.
Unilever is a British consumer goods company formed in 1929 by the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Brothers. It reports through four business groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Foods. Its ice cream business was demerged as The Magnum Ice Cream Company in December 2025.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 252 brands that began in Germany.
93 of them (37%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Knorr among them.
Unilever agreed to combine its Foods business, home of Knorr and Hellmann's, with McCormick in a Reverse Morris Trust: Unilever would receive $15.7 billion in cash, and Unilever and its shareholders would own 65 per cent of the combined company with McCormick's existing holders owning 35 per cent. McCormick valued Unilever Foods at an enterprise value of about $44.8 billion. It would be the largest reshaping of Unilever since the ice cream demerger, leaving it a beauty, personal care and home care company.
Unilever acquired Bestfoods, the American food group behind Knorr and Hellmann's, in what was then the largest cash acquisition in the food industry. The European Commission cleared the deal in Phase I subject to divestiture commitments.
The European Commission cleared Unilever's acquisition of Bestfoods in Phase I on 28 September 2000 under Article 6(1)(b) with conditions and obligations, after the parties offered divestitures. The case was notified on 16 August 2000 under the then-applicable Council Regulation 4064/89.
Official recalls involving Knorr products
3 recall notices from government regulators matched to Knorr.
Each applies to the specific products, sizes and lot codes named in the notice, not to every product sold under the name.
Matched automatically from FDA, USDA FSIS, UK Food Standards Agency and CPSC records only when the recalling firm corresponds to this ownership record and, for a brand, the brand name appears in the product description. Check the linked notice for exact products and lots. Method.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Knorr?
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The parent company of Knorr is Unilever, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Knorr German or British?
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Knorr originated in Germany in 1838, but it is owned today by Unilever, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Knorr is a German-origin brand under British ownership.
When did Unilever buy Knorr?
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Unilever completed its acquisition of Knorr on 4 October 2000, after announcing the deal on 6 June 2000. The deal, which also included Hellmann's and Maizena, was valued at $24.3 billion (enterprise value).
Who owned Knorr before Unilever?
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Before Unilever, Knorr was owned by Bestfoods until 2000.
Is Knorr still owned by Unilever?
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Yes. As of 8 October 2026, Knorr is still owned by Unilever. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (5) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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