Jurgens & Co

Margarine, a staple in many households today, traces its origins back to a pivotal moment in French history. In response to Napoleon III's quest for an affordable substitute to butter for both French workers and military personnel during the Franco-Prussian War, Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, a French chemist, concocted the first margarine in 1869. This groundbreaking creation blended beef tallow with milk, offering a viable alternative to butter. However, it was the Dutch entrepreneurs at Jurgens & Co. who recognized its potential and propelled its widespread adoption.

Antoon Jurgens, the visionary founder of Jurgens & Co., established the company in 1867. Recognizing the value of Mège-Mouriès' invention, Jurgens acquired the patents and rights to margarine in 1871, setting the stage for its mass production. By 1908, production at Antoon Jurgens United had reached an impressive 50,000 tons, firmly establishing the company as a major player in the margarine industry.

In a strategic move to further expand its reach, Antoon Jurgens United entered into a profit-sharing arrangement with Van den Bergh's in 1908. This partnership, formed by Samuel van den Bergh, another luminary in the industry, proved instrumental in the company's growth. Both companies, based in Oss, Netherlands, shared a common vision for the future of margarine production.

The expansion of Jurgens and Van den Bergh's operations wasn't confined to the Netherlands. In 1917, they established factories in England, including one in Purfleet, Essex. Over the years, these facilities underwent several expansions, indicative of the burgeoning demand for their products. By 1959, the Purfleet factory alone boasted a workforce of 1,000 employees, producing not only margarine but also processed cheese and soft drinks under the Stork brand.

By the late 1920s, Jurgens had solidified its presence across the British Isles, with margarine factories sprouting in Scotland, Ireland, and England. This geographical expansion propelled Jurgens into the echelons of Europe's largest butter and margarine businesses.

The trajectory of Jurgens & Co. took a transformative turn in 1927 when it merged with another prominent player, sparking the creation of Margarine Unie. Three years later, in 1930, Margarine Unie joined forces with Lever Brothers to form the conglomerate known today as Unilever. This pivotal merger not only reshaped the landscape of the margarine industry but also laid the groundwork for Unilever's emergence as a global powerhouse in consumer goods.

In conclusion, the story of Jurgens & Co. is a testament to the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that drove the evolution of margarine from a humble invention to a ubiquitous household staple. Through strategic partnerships, technological innovation, and visionary leadership, Jurgens cemented its legacy as a pioneer in the margarine industry, leaving an indelible mark on the world of food production.
Jurgens & Co

History of Sunlight soap

He is best known for the business which he founded with his brother and which survives today as Lever Brothers the soap and saponides manufacturing arm of Unilever, the giant Anglo-Dutch multinational.

William Hesketh Lever was born at Bolton, Lancashire in 1852 was the son of grocer. In 1867, Lever was recruited into the family grocery business, where one of his chores was to cut the large blocks of soap into slices and wrap them for sale.

Looking at his father’s humble empire, Lever’s gaze fell upon one thing – soap. Together with James Lever, William Lever opened soap factory at Warrington, England, in 1885 and brought soap to the masses. After much market research and international travel, they began to corner the market

Up until 1884 Levers marketed their soaps under the name LEVER'S PURE HONEY. Requirements of the 1875 Trade Marks Act led Leverhulme to search for another trade name as their soap was neither pure nor did it contain honey.

The name was selected from list of words suggested to him by a Liverpool patent agent firm W.P Thompson in 1884.

SUNLIGHT, William Lever felt, was as distinctive a name, as he hoped his soap would be. The idea was to apply the name ‘Sunlight’ to a range of soaps sourced from different manufacturers. The product was to be delivered in manageable sized portions, packed in cartons and launched with the support of a significant advertising budget.

Lever's at this time had several manufacturers supplying their soap requirements for, as they advertised in their house journal The Lancashire Grocer, not all manufacturers could supply all types of soaps at a uniformly high standard.

Lever's boasted that only by selecting the best soaps from each manufacturer could they ensure a range of quality soaps.

The registration o the brand name took place just before the Board of Trade used new instructions on July 1885 “to implement a far stricter interpretation of the term ‘fancy word’.

Their products, Sunlight, the world’s first packaged soap, was very successful. The soup they made in ready molded tablet.

Production facilities were expanded in December 1886 and by the end of 1887 the works was producing four hundred and fifty tons of Sunlight Soap per week, in addition to the valuable by-product glycerine.
History of Sunlight soap

History of Lifebuoy soap

In 1894, Lifebuoy Royal Disinfectant Soap was launched in the United Kingdom. The name was later changed to Red Lifebuoy Deodorant Soap with the directions: ‘Add water to produce lather. Use as regular soap’. Lifebuoy is synonymous with health and remained low priced. It soon broadened to the United States.

The British parent of Lever Brothers had introduced Lifebuoy as laundry soap, but as its chief executive and founder, William H. Lever, would write in 1921, ‘The public in America have decided that Lifebuoy is toilet soap’.

Although some complained that lifebuoy has a medicinal smell, it appeal to health was effective. In fact, in some cases, the company even emphasized the odor as a sign that soap was actively combating infection and disease.

Lever Brothers also issued an advertisement in 1919 featuring Lifebuoy as a ‘health soap’ and the fact that army required soldiers to carry soap as part of their equipment with ‘every man in the United States Army … compelled to use it’.

In England, during the Second World War, Lifebuoy vans carrying free soap and showers were sent to help bombed communities.

Lifebuoy soap ads made during the 1940s informed consumers that people had more than 2 million sweat glands on their bodies and that tension or excitement could cause ‘nervous body odor’. A tangy ‘Lifebuoy daily bath’ would prevent this problem, the ad claimed.

During 2002 to 2004 Lifebuoy experimented with a number of new formulations and repositioning exercise to make it more relevant to be new generations of consumers.
History of Lifebuoy soap

History of Unilever

The company was formed by a merger of Dutch Margarine Union and British soap-makers Lever Brothers in 1929.

Unilever was one of the world’s first genuine multinationals with operating companies in more than 40 countries.

The company produces and distributes a vast number of well known brands in the areas of nutrition, hygiene and personal care that are used by consumers all over the world.

The history of Unilever dates back to 1885, William Lever established a soap manufacturing company in the UK with his brothers and named the company Lever Brothers in 1885.

William Hesketh Lever was born at Bolton, Lancashire in 1852 was the son of grocer. Together with James Lever, William Lever opened soap factory at Warrington, England, in 1885.

Their products, Sunlight, the world’s first packaged soap, was very successful. The soup they made in ready moulded tablet.

Previously laundry soap was marketed in bars and grocers cut off pieces and sold them by weight.

Until 1919 Lever was wholly own and controlled by the founder. By 1919, as a result of ingle minded expansionist, commercial policies, his firm accounted for 60 percent of soap production in Britain.

Two butter makers, Jurgen and Van den Berghs formed Margarine Union in 1927. The Dutch Margarine Union merged with Lever Brothers of United Kingdom in 1929 to form Unilever.

During the 1930s, the structure and management of Unilever has been describe as a professional largely non-family managed hierarchy.

For tax, purpose, two separate entities were established, one in London and another in Rotterdam.

Historically, Unilever has grown to be a very multilocal company. However, while the company used to work with regional supply chains on regional brands. Unilever started to globalize their brands in the early and mid 1990s.

History of Unilever

History of Lux soup

History of Lux soap
Lux soap first produced in United Kingdom in 1899. It was produced by British company name Lever Brothers. Lever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother James. They using glycerin and vegetable oil such as palm oil to manufacture soap called “Sunlight Soap.” The flaked version of soap called Lux soap. Glycerin was a lucrative byproduct of the soap making process, and by the end of 1886, Lever brothers also had a glycerin factory.

Lever opened their small office in New York in 1895. The company started selling Sunlight and Lifebuoy but did not doing well until 1916. Lux soap was first launched in United States in 1916. The Lux trademark was registered in United States in 1900.

Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The soap's very first advertisement featured actress Leela Chitnis as its brand ambassador. It was popularly known as 'the beauty soap of film stars.'

From 1930s right through 1970s, Lux soap colors and packaging were altered several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colors were made up the range: pink, white, blue, green and yellow. In 1990s, Lux launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturising bars. Today, Lux soap is sold in 100 countries and sales achieved 1.0 billion euros in 2005 alone.
History of Lux soup