Established in 1806, Colgate-Palmolive Company is behind the popular Colgate toothpaste. William Colgate started the Company as a small starch, soap, and candle business in New York City.
More than 200 years later, Colgate-Palmolive is currently hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide.
Advertisement
He was born in England in 1783 to Robert Colgate and his wife Sarah.
Robert migrated with his family to Maryland in 1798 because of his political sympathy for the American War of Independence and the French Revolution.
Advertisement
Here, he started to manufacture soap and candles in partnership with Ralph Maher, and William helped them out.
When William moved to New York in 1804, he became an apprentice to a soap maker, and he learned about the manufacturing business.
Advertisement
In 1811, Colgate married Mary Gilbert, and together, they had three sons: Robert, James, and Samuel.
The first Colgate advertisement appeared in a New York newspaper in 1817.
In 1820, Colgate established a starch factory in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Also Read: Nurzakhanu and Akberali Manji, Couple Behind Super Loaf & Butter Toast Bread
William Colgate Dies, Son Takes Over
In 1857, Colgate died at the age of 74, and his son, Samuel, succeeded him as President of Colgate & Company.
It remained a family business until 1928, when the company was sold to Palmolive-Peet to become the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company, although Peet was subsequently dropped.
Colgate introduced perfumed soap and perfumes/essence in 1866 and the collapsible tube in 1896.
The Company started selling aromatic toothpaste in jars in 1873.
By 1911, Colgate was distributing two million tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes to schools and hygienists to demonstrate tooth brushing.
Also Read: Owners of Africa Nazarene University and Why They Chose Kenya
Official Company Name
The name Colgate-Palmolive Company became the company’s official name in 1953.
In 1983, the Colgate Plus toothbrush was introduced, and over 1.6 billion are sold annually worldwide.
Protex Bar Soap & Liquid Soap
The Company introduced Protex bar soap in 1985. It currently offers all-family antibacterial protection in over 56 countries.
It acquired the liquid soap business from the Minnetonka Corporation in 1987, Murphy Oil Soap in 1991 and Mennen Company the following year.
Further, it acquired the GABA oral care business in Europe (2004), the Sanex personal care brand (2011) and Hello Products LLC (2020).
In 2019, the Company launched the first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube and acquired premium, anti-aging skin care brand Filorga.
It also relaunched the Colgate Total toothpaste and Hill’s Science Diet that same year.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
