While Unilever Jerónimo Martins maintains its leadership in the
margarine, ice tea, ice cream and laundry detergent markets, Gallo
Worldwide is the leader in both the domestic market and Brazil,
Angola and Venezuela.
Origins of the Group's manufacturing activity
Jerónimo Martins began its manufacturing operations in the late
1930s and early 1940s, the first milestone being the opening of the
Fima factory (Fábrica Imperial de Margarina, Lda) in 1944,
dedicated to the production of margarines and cooking oils.
The key moment in the Group's expansion in this activity
occurred in 1949, when it established a joint-venture with the
Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever, whose products had already been
marketed by the Group for many years.
Current organisation of manufacturing activity
The partnership with Unilever was reinforced in 2007 with merger
of FimaVG, Bestfoods, LeverElida and IgloOlá into a single Company
named Unilever Jerónimo Martins, 45% of which was held by the
Jerónimo Martins Group.
In 2009, Unilever Jerónimo Martins spun off the Olive Oil and
Vegetable Oil business, which give rise to Gallo Worldwide.