What is Unilever?

Well, it’s been a rough couple weeks in the stock market… If you are thinking “I might just pull my money out and stop the bleeding" I get it. It is difficult to watch, but the difference between good investors and bad investors is what you do when the market is down. Stay the course, keep investing, and think in years not weeks.

Unilever’s history is a story of three families from the 1860s.

The Jurgens family started selling butter as a side hustle - although I don’t think that was the technical phrase back then - to compliment their carpenter day job. After a few years, they moved to the Netherlands to focus on selling butter full time. Little did they know, the Van de Bergh family was also selling butter and would be their biggest competitor… until they merged.

In 1871, the Jurgens family purchased the patent for margarine and would develop the process to mass produce it. Margarine, and the necessary raw materials, would put the Jurgens on a collision course with the soap industry.

in 1884, William Lever, and his family grocery store Lever & Co, would package and sell the first branded soap - Sunlight. William Lever formed the Lever Brothers to expand the growing soap business.

Over the next decade, all three families would innovate new products to include flake soap and margarine made with a wider source of materials. As real butter became more popular, margarine sales declined. The Jurgens and Van de Bergh families would agree to share profits in a secret agreement. #capitalism

In 1927, the Jurgens and Van de Bergh families formalized their profit pooling agreement and formed Margarine Unie - The Margarine Union. This new union expanded rapidly integrating any businesses involved in animal fats and oils.

The Lever Brothers, with an international supply chain for their soap, was a threat to the Margarine Union since they use the same raw materials. In theory, one company could begin producing the other’s products in direct competition since the logistics are already in place.

In 1930, they tried to avoid this with a formal cooperative agreement. It ended in a merger. The Margarine Union and Lever Brothers formed Unilever. Personally, I think Brangelina is a better name combination.

Although the merger happened in the middle of the great depression, it was actually a perfect time. World War II increased demand for shelf stable margarine and soap. Unilever would secure millions in sales to militaries around the world.

The branches in Japan and Germany would be cut off from England because of, you know, the war. This would end up being a strength as Unilever allowed individual markets to determine the best marketing and products to sell to their customers. This decentralized control would be essential when producing hundreds of products.

Following the war, Unilever started releasing products, and they didn’t stop.

• 1955 - Dove Soap

• 1971 - Lipton Tea

• 1973 - A bunch of international toothpaste and deodorant that I have never heard of but their website says they are popular.

• 1983 - Axe Body Spray

• 1985 - Clearblue pregnancy test

• 1989 - Calvin Klein - sold in 2005

• 1989 - Magnum Ice Cream

• 1993 - Breyers Ice Cream

By 2001, Unilever looked around realized they had 1,600 brands under their umbrella. They decided downsizing was the proper next step, apparently someone said it in their interview.

Today, they are down to 400 brands in five categories: Ice Cream, Food, Home Care, Personal Care, and Beauty & Wellbeing. They had 60.8 billion euros in sales in 2024 with 6.4 billion in net profit.

Unilever is a beast conglomerate with international brands. Their founding is a prime example that your competition might not be the other products on the store shelf. Your competition could be access to the necessary raw materials. Margarine and soap are not physically close in the market, but they come from the same ingredients.

There are big changes for Unilever in 2025 as they spin off all their ice cream products to a different entity. As an avid ice cream fan, I will be doing extensive research to see if their products worsen after the spin off. You’re welcome for my service.

Debrief on Deck

Next week, we will talk about where you can put your emergency savings. There are many ways to still earn some interest with minimal risk. It’s always refreshing to check your emergency savings account and see the same number as last month especially after the past two weeks in the stock market. Small wins.

As always, please reach out to us with any questions or comments you have. You can reply directly to this email or find us on Instagram.

Until then, stay the course.

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