Who Brands Blog

Dacia was founded in 1966 in communist Romania as a state car manufacturer. Today, owned by Renault Group, it is the best-selling car brand in Europe. Here is the full history.

Sony started making rice cookers and radio repair equipment in 1946. Today it owns PlayStation, Columbia Pictures, Sony Music, and the world's largest music publishing catalogue. Here is the full story.

Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade, Dasani, Smartwater, Costa Coffee, Fuze Tea, and over 200 more brands all share one parent. Here is how The Coca-Cola Company quietly became a total beverage company.

Berkshire Hathaway started as a failing New England textile mill. Warren Buffett turned it into a holding company that owns GEICO, Dairy Queen, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, Kraft Heinz, and dozens more. Here is the full story.

Kering owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, and Pomellato. It was built by François-Henri Pinault from a French timber and retail conglomerate. Here is the full story.

Mars owns Snickers, M&Ms, Twix, Skittles, Wrigley, Pedigree, Whiskas, Uncle Ben's, and Dove chocolate. It does all of this without a single public shareholder. Here is the story of the world's largest private food company.

General Mills started as a flour milling company in 1856. Today it owns Cheerios, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, and Blue Buffalo. Here is the full story of how it got there.

Unilever was created in 1929 when a British soap company and a Dutch margarine producer merged. Today it owns Dove, Hellmann's, Knorr, Ben & Jerry's, and hundreds more. Here is the full story.

Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moet & Chandon, Hennessy, Tiffany, Bulgari, Givenchy, Celine. LVMH owns 75 luxury brands. Here is how Bernard Arnault built the world's largest luxury conglomerate from a near-hostile takeover in 1987.

Procter & Gamble started in 1837 selling candles and soap in Cincinnati. Today it owns Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Oral-B, and dozens more. Here is the full story of how it became the world's largest consumer goods company.

Nestlé started in 1867 with a single infant formula product. Today it owns KitKat, Nespresso, Purina, Maggi, and hundreds more. Here is the full story of how that happened.