No, this is no grammar lesson. Conjugating verbs and diagramming sentences was always a painful exercise back in my parochial school days. But painful and tense are two adjectives that perfectly capture the current atmosphere in many consumers’ homes, retail stores and every company in the fast-moving consumer goods supply chain. The mood is definitely somber in The International Top 30, our annual look at the leading players in the global household and personal products industry with headquarters outside the US.

For nearly every company in The International Top 30, 2019 was successful and, comparatively, uneventful. Sales grew in the low single digits in established markets and in the mid-single digits in emerging ones. NPD was focused on making cleaning easier and faster, and personal care followed the latest fashions tweaked by novel skin-caring ingredients. All that changed, of course, when China’s economy came to a skidding halt late last year and soon, countries throughout Europe were overrun by COVID-19. The result was a disastrous first quarter that was sure to spill into Q2. The good news is that many of the home countries in The International Top 30 did a great job of shutting down and re-opening responsibly. Observers note China’s economy, the first to suffer from the pandemic, is also providing lessons on how to get things moving again, and more good news is coming out of India, where Nielsen reports markets are in recovery mode and governments and companies can learn a lesson or two about how to get economies growing again. Need more good news? When disaster strikes, the global household and personal products industry is always the first to respond, and the pandemic was no different as our readers switched gears to produce sanitizer and disinfectant, and donate to charities around the world.

So, who’s on first? Unilever, of course, which debuted in the No. 1 spot when we began The International Top 30 in 1991 and has held the pole position through good times and bad. Next is L’Oréal, the perennial runner-up which also happens to be the largest pure-play beauty company in the world. After Unilever and L’Oréal, however, our list is never static, as a variety of companies have climbed over one another to claim spots three through 10.

We hope you enjoy this edition of The International Top 30 and remember to visit Happi.com or pick up our July issue to see how Unilever, L’Oréal, Shiseido and the rest compare to the US-based companies which make up The Top 50. 

1. Unilever
The Netherlands • $36.3 billion

2. L’Oreal
France • $33.4 billion

3. Shiseido
Japan • $12.0 billion

4. Henkel
Germany • $11.7 billion

5. Kao
Japan • $10.2 billion

6. LVMH
France • $7.6 billion

7. Beiersdorf
Germany • $7.0 billion

8. Reckitt Benckiser
United Kingdom • $6.4 billion

9. Amorepacific
South Korea • $5.4 billion

10. LG
South Korea • $5.3 billion

11. Chanel
France • $4.1 billion

12. Boticário Group
Brazil • $3.8 billion

13. Avon Products
United Kingdom • $3.6 billion

13. Natura &Co
Brazil • $3.6 billion

15. GlaxoSmithKline
United Kingdom • $3.3 billion

16. Kosé
Japan • $3.0 billion

16. Groupe Rocher
France • $3.0 billion

18. Puig
Spain • $2.0 billion

19. Pola Orbis
Japan • $1.9 billion

20. L’Occitane
France • $1.7 billion

21. Lion
Japan • $1.5 billion

21. Pierre Fabre
France • $1.5 billion

23. Clarins
France • $1.4 billion

23. Oriflame
Sweden • $1.4 billion

25. Lush
United Kingdom • $1.2 billion

26. Belcorp
Peru • $1.1 billion

27. McBride
United Kingdom • $948 million

28. Yanbal
Peru • $885 million

29. Sunstar
Switzerland • $811 million

30. Shanghai Jahwa
China • $810 million