The British manufacturer Lever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) and his brother James. The company established soap factories around the world producing the famous Sunlight , the world's first packaged, branded laundry soap. In 1917, the company began to diversify into foods, acquiring fish, ice cream and canned foods businesses in order to apply synergies caused by commonalities in the raw materials required to produce and distribute these products.

Lever Brothers was one of several British companies that took a caring, almost paternal interest in the welfare of its employees. This was a major feature of the company's operations right from the start; the town of Port Sunlight on the Wirral in north-west England grew up around the early soap factory and part of the town, called 'The Village', was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate their staff.

The company grew and operated until 1930 when it merged with a Dutch company Margarine Unie to form, Unilever, the first modern multinational company....