Imperial is a brand of

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was or ...

or spread, depending on the country, previously distributed by

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

and currently marketed by Upfield. It is best remembered for television commercials in which a person who recently ate something with Imperial margarine would suddenly have a crown appear on their head (accompanied by a four note fanfare). Formulations of the product may vary by region. In the United States, Imperial is now a "vegetable oil spread" due to reductions in the percentage of vegetable oil in the product. However, in other countries, the product still qualifies as margarine.

History

In 1956

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

(Unilever) developed Imperial, a margarine which had a lower melting point and which contained butter. In 1980

Michael Angus Sir Michael Richardson Angus (5 May 1930 – 13 March 2010) was a British businessman, best known as chair of Unilever. Biography Angus was born in West Ashford, Kent and raised in the Cotswolds near to Cirencester, and educated at Marling Sch ...

became chairman. The bulk of Lever's losses stemmed from Imperial margarine. So in 1981, Angus shut down the outdated

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, plant that made Imperial and farmed out the work to contractors able to produce it more cheaply. In 2018, Unilever sold its margarines and spreads to Upfield.

References

Margarine brands Former Unilever brands {{Food-product-stub