Unilever – No.9 (63)
Better-known for its food brand portfolio, and also personal care and cleaning products, Unilever still packs a hefty beverage punch, not least with billion-euro tea brand Lipton, but slipped two places from #61 on Forbes’ innovation list.
Other local brands include Bru (Indian instant coffee), PG Tips (UK tea), and strong tea Brooke Bond (a best-seller in Pakistan) and despite some analyst tattle going back a couple years that Unilever could ditch food and beverage businesses, the firm sees a bright future in tea.
Executive VP of global beverages, Winfried Hopf, said in March: “For Unilever and I, tea is the hottest beverage in the beverage landscape…a category with power…and a category with scale.”