Brandtree

Bestfoods: brands it owns and its ownership tree

Bestfoods is a publicly listed company headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States that is tracked here as an owner of consumer businesses, and has 1 recorded transaction.[1]

Bestfoods, previously CPC International, owned Knorr, Hellmann's and Mazola until Unilever acquired it in 2000.

Status: merged

Company facts

Legal name
Bestfoods
Type
publicly listed company · see all publicly listed company owners
Headquarters
🇺🇸 Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States
Founded
1958
Last verified
· 2 sources

Divestitures and spin-offs by Bestfoods

Brands Bestfoods no longer owns

Bestfoods controlled these 3 brands in the past. Each row shows when the ownership ended and who holds the brand now, so a page that once said Bestfoods owned it still shows why it no longer does.

BrandOwned untilOwner today
Hellmann's Oct 2000 Unilever
Knorr Oct 2000 Unilever
Maizena Oct 2000 Unilever

Full ownership and deal history for Bestfoods →

Regulatory history

CaseRegulatorDecisionDate
M.1990european commissioncleared with remedies28 September 2000

Latest news about Bestfoods

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Frequently asked questions

What brands does Bestfoods own?

Bestfoods is tracked as an owner of consumer businesses; see the ownership tree for its holdings.

Is Bestfoods an American company?

Yes. Bestfoods is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States and was founded in 1958.

Who owns Bestfoods?

Bestfoods is a publicly listed company owned by its shareholders.

Sources (2) & corrections

Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.

  1. [1] Unilever PLC Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2025 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 20-F, published 12 March 2026; retrieved 6 September 2026.
  2. [2] European Commission merger case M.1990 — Unilever / Bestfoods — European Commission, DG Competition, Regulator decision, published 28 September 2000; retrieved 6 September 2026.

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