With the global recovery still in doubt, consumer staples companies are a good refuge because their products are always in demand whether the economy is doing well or not. And our favorite Global Income Edge consumer defensive play, Unilever (NYSE: UL), has a 3.25% dividend yield and should weather the current environment.

At a market cap of $128 billion, the Anglo-Dutch company, co-headquartered in Rotterdam and London, is the world’s third-largest consumer staples company behind Procter & Gamble and Nestlé.

It owns more than 400 brands and is represented in 190 countries. Its line-up of famous brands includes Dove, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Lipton Ice Tea and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

The company operates in four segments: personal care, food, home care and refreshments. In recent years, Unilever has focused more on its higher-margin personal care segment, which now accounts for about 37.7% of the company’s business. Second is Unilever’s food business, which generates about 23% of revenue, down from 35% in 2008. The remaining two segments, home care and refreshments, are split at about 19% of the firm’s total business.

Emerging Markets Edge

While Unilever has a strong presence in the U.S. and Western Europe, its business is weighted more toward emerging markets where it has operated for several decades. Emerging markets accounted for about 58% of its business last year.

Asia, Africa and the Middle East have higher consumer spending growth, and these markets helped drive much of Unilever’s growth. By comparison, P&G generates about 60% of its business from developed markets, which continue to post flat-to-low consumer spending growth.

Unilever faces daunting competition in emerging markets from P&G, Colgate and Nestlé. However, its brand recognition has allowed Unilever to gain market share despite this competition and global economic headwinds.

In 2015, Unilever posted revenue growth of 10% to $61.1 billion, boosting its bottom line by 14% for the year. The company was able to achieve this growth thanks to a combination of increased sales and price increases, with all four operating segments contributing to growth.

The momentum has carried into the first quarter of 2016. Despite a 2.3% drop in first-quarter revenue to $14.3 billion because of a foreign currency drag of 7.1%, underlying sales—which exclude the impact of foreign exchange—rose 4.7%. These were driven by an 8.3% growth in emerging markets. By comparison, Nestlé recorded 3% growth in its latest quarter while P&G recorded organic growth of about 1% in its latest quarter.

Management says sales will grow 3% to 5% per year, even as it expects a tougher world economy in 2016.

Free Money

The quantitative easing measures in the EU last year allowed Unilever to raise cheap capital to fund its growth investments. Unilever is essentially accessing capital for free, which can be used to further expand the business. Considering that Unilever has delivered almost continuous returns on equity of between 7% and 9% over the last five quarters, this capital will further boost earnings, which ultimately lead to higher dividends.

Dividend Growth

Unilever’s dividend payments only account for about 67% of earnings, presenting it with plenty of flexibility to increase payouts. During the first quarter, the company demonstrated this by raising its dividend 6% to 0.3201 euros per share. Its peers P&G and Kimberly Clark, by comparison, raised their dividends 1% and 4%, respectively. With Unilever’s business growing steadily, it will be able to maintain the dividend in the foreseeable future with the possibility of hikes.

The share price stayed relatively flat the past 12 months, leaving the price-to-earnings ratio at 22. This is historically high, but as investors pile into defensive stocks, Unilever trades at a discount to its peers.With a safe 3.25% yield, Unilever is a strong long-term holding for income investors.

Pick up our #3 Best Buy, Unilever, under $54.