Knorr is owned by Unilever (the United Kingdom, LSE: ULVR), which acquired the brand on 4 October 2000 from Bestfoods.[1][2][3] Before Unilever, Knorr was owned by Bestfoods to 2000.[3]
Knorr was founded in Heilbronn, Germany in 1838 and built its business on dried soups and bouillon. It passed to Unilever with the Bestfoods acquisition in 2000 and is sold in more than 80 countries.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Unilever acquired Bestfoods, the American food group behind Knorr and Hellmann's, in what was then the largest cash acquisition in the food industry. The European Commission cleared the deal in Phase I subject to divestiture commitments.
The European Commission cleared Unilever's acquisition of Bestfoods in Phase I on 28 September 2000 under Article 6(1)(b) with conditions and obligations, after the parties offered divestitures. The case was notified on 16 August 2000 under the then-applicable Council Regulation 4064/89.
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The parent company of Knorr is Unilever, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Knorr originated in Germany in 1838, but it is owned today by Unilever, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Knorr is a German-origin brand under British ownership.
Unilever completed its acquisition of Knorr on 4 October 2000, after announcing the deal on 6 June 2000.
Before Unilever, Knorr was owned by Bestfoods until 2000.
Yes. As of 6 September 2026, Knorr is still owned by Unilever. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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