Unilever Archive

Located in Port Sunlight, the historic home of Unilever in the UK, the Unilever archives are amongst the most important collections of business records in the world.

The high standard of the archive has been recognised by The National Archives (TNA) and through receipt of “Designated Status” by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) for both the Unilever and United Africa Company collections, which recognises the archive as being of international significance.

The archivists are responsible for the collection and management of Unilever’s archives which span several centuries – in fact, our oldest document dates from 1295.

The archives contain original documents, printed sources, images and films. Well-known companies, such as Colman’s, Wall’s and Lipton, as well as brands such as Persil, Pears Soap, Lux, PG Tips and Marmite, all feature in the archive. There are minute books, financial records, a wealth of advertising and examples of packaging, as well as architectural plans and maps to name just some of the types of records.