Superior growth rates have pushed the share of total sales from emerging markets to 57%. But unlike many of the FTSE 100 firms now minting money in China, Unilever's involvement in emerging markets goes back decades. It boasts more than 50 years' experience in Brazil, China, India and Indonesia. Lifebuoy soap, created by Lever Brothers in 1895 to help eradicate cholera in Victorian England and, now targeted at the developing world, is said to be available in 50,000 of India's 600,000 villages. It's hard to replicate distribution networks and brand penetration like that.