Unilever (LSE: ULVR, NYSE: UL, AEX: UNA) is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom that owns 54 consumer brands across 5 categories, and has 20 recorded transactions.[1]
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.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Unilever took majority ownership of Nutrafol, a hair growth supplement brand, having first invested in 2018. The price was not disclosed.
Unilever acquired Paula's Choice, a skincare brand founded by a writer who had built an audience by criticising the cosmetics industry's claims. Press reports suggested around $2 billion; neither party disclosed a figure.
Unilever acquired Liquid I.V., an American hydration powder brand sold largely online. The price was not disclosed, and the brand has since become one of the faster-growing products in the group's portfolio.
Unilever acquired GlaxoSmithKline's Indian consumer nutrition business, including Horlicks, in a transaction valued at about €3.3 billion and settled largely in Hindustan Unilever shares. It is one of the largest deals ever done in Indian consumer goods.
Unilever acquired Tatcha, a skincare brand drawing on Japanese ingredients and ritual. Press reports put the price near $500 million, but neither party disclosed it, so no figure is recorded here.
Unilever acquired The Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch meat substitute company founded by a former farmer. It later supplied the plant-based patty used by Burger King across Europe. The price was not disclosed.
Unilever acquired Sundial Brands, owner of SheaMoisture, a company built around hair and skin care for Black consumers that mainstream brands had long underserved. The price was not disclosed.
Unilever acquired Hourglass Cosmetics, a colour cosmetics brand that does not test on animals and went fully vegan in 2020. The price was not disclosed.
Unilever separated its ice cream business as The Magnum Ice Cream Company, whose shares were admitted to trading on Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange on 8 December 2025. Unilever shareholders received shares in the new company as a demerger dividend, and Unilever retained a 19.9% stake at admission.
Unilever sold its spreads business to KKR, which established it as a standalone company named Upfield. Unilever had been trying to exit margarine for years as consumption declined, and the sale followed its rejection of a takeover approach from Kraft Heinz that had prompted a strategic review.
Hormel acquired Skippy from Unilever for about $700 million, buying the second largest peanut butter brand in the United States. Unilever had held it since taking over Bestfoods in 2000 and was narrowing its food portfolio; Hormel was broadening beyond tinned meat.
Colgate-Palmolive bought Sanex from Unilever for about EUR 672 million. Unilever was selling because competition authorities required it to divest Sanex before it could complete its purchase of Sara Lee's personal care business, so one company's remedy became another's acquisition.
Unilever controlled these 23 brands in the past. Each row shows when the ownership ended and who holds the brand now, so a page that once said Unilever owned it still shows why it no longer does.
| Brand | Owned until | Owner today |
|---|---|---|
| Wall's | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Cornetto | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Breyers | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Popsicle | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Klondike | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Twister | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Carte d'Or | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Viennetta | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Solero | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Calippo | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Magnum | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Ben & Jerry's | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Talenti | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Yasso | Dec 2025 | The Magnum Ice Cream Company |
| Blue Band | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| Rama | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| Becel | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| Flora | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| Country Crock | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| ProActiv | Jul 2018 | KKR |
| Skippy | Jan 2013 | Hormel Foods |
| Lawry's | Jul 2008 | McCormick |
| Case | Regulator | Decision | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.1990 | european commission | cleared with remedies | 28 September 2000 |
| M.1802 | european commission | cleared with remedies | 8 March 2000 |
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Unilever owns 54 consumer brands tracked here, including Persil, Bango, Marmite, Rexona, Lifebuoy and Horlicks.
Yes. Unilever is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and was founded in 1929.
Unilever is a publicly listed company owned by its shareholders; it trades as ULVR on the LSE, UL on the NYSE and UNA on the AEX.
The most recent completed acquisition recorded here is Nutrafol on 1 May 2022.
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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