HUL is India's largest fast moving consumer goods company, with leadership in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. HUL's brands, spread across 20 distinct consumer categories, touch the lives of two out of three Indians. The company meets everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care, with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These three companies merged to form HUL in November 1956; HUL offered 10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do so. Unilever now holds 52% equity in the company.

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall's and Pure it.

The Company has over 16,000 employees and has an annual turnover of around Rs.19, 691 crores (FY11). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe with annual sales of about €44 billion in 2011.

After three years of navigating choppy waters, HUL has managed to make itself steady. It is now focusing on strong growth, innovation and category creation. Lakme salon, BRU cafes and Swirls Parlors are new ways for Hindustan Unilever to connect with its consumers.

Eoin Treacy's view Unilever is a globally diversified consumer oriented company. With operations in just about every country and a long history of developing business units in emerging markets, it is ideally placed to benefit from the expanding middle classes, particularly in the world's population centres. The company's “Asia, Africa and Central & Eastern Europe” division is its largest and fastest growing.

Unilever is one of a small number of companies that maintains a full listing for its regional subsidiaries in many of the countries where it does business. Hindustan Unilever is one such example. The share has been a stunning relative performer in the Indian market but is becoming increasingly overextended relative to the 200-day MA. Nevertheless, a sustained move below INR475 would be required to question the consistency of the advance.

The Indian listings of Colgate Palmolive India and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare have also outperformed the domestic market.