colgate-palmolive company
DESCRIPTION
Details on the history and products of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, especially the mergerTRANSCRIPT
BENITEZ, HannahCRISOSTOMO, Evangeline
DELA CRUZ, JaianneENIMEDEZ, Djameah
LIMCACO, IsabellaMACAPAGAL, Dayana
REYES, DanielleIV-Righteousness
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY
In 1806, an English immigrant named William Colgate founded a company
that sold soap, starch and candles at 6 Dutch Street of New York (Colgate-Palmolive
Company, n.d.). The nineteenth century economic setting of New York was bustling
with trade; it was a blooming field enticing and encouraging new entrepreneurs to
start fresh businesses (New-York Historical Society, n.d.). After 11 years, Soap &
Candle Manufactory William Colgate & Co.'s first advertisement appeared on a New
York newspaper endorsing "Soap, Mould and Dipt Candles" (Origins of Business,
2008).
Unfortunately, William Colgate died on the year 1857. It would only be 39
years later that his company would be the first to introduce toothpaste in tubes to the
market, a revolutionary feat and a legacy he would be most remembered by, and it
would be 71 years later where Colgate and Co., renamed and managed after his death
by his son Samuel, will be merged with the Palmolive-Peet Company to become one
of the giants in personal care and nutrition products (Colgate-Palmolive Company,
n.d.).
The Palmolive-Peet Company was already a merger itself even before the
company decided to merge with Colgate & Co. In 1864, Caleb Johnson founded a
soap company in Milwaukee and named it B.J. Johnson Soap Co. which was renamed
thirty-four years later to Palmolive, a particular kind of soap the company released
that was an intermediate between palm oil and olive oil, because the product was
incredibly popular (Bellis, n.d.).
In 1872, Colgate & Co. produced the first milled perfumed toilet soap called
Cashmere Bouquet. It was in the same year that William, Robert and James Peet,
collectively called the Peet Brothers, started a soap company in Kansas. The
following year, Colgate & Co. acquaints its customers with toothpaste sold in jars as
small as modern 60 milliliter bottles (Old Company Research Service, n.d.).
On the 100th anniversary of Colgate & Co. (1906), the company had more
than 800 products as part of its roster. Palmolive and The Peet Brothers merged in
1926 to become the Palmolive-Peet Company. Two years later (1928), Palmolive-Peet
merged with Colgate & Co. to become Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Co. but in 1953 they
finally settled with the name Colgate-Palmolive Company as an oral care, personal
care, home care and pet nutrition providing company (Colgate-Palmolive Company,
n.d.).
The merger proved to be fruitful. The company was able to expand greatly to
the foreign market because of the power it attained. It started to extend first to Latin
America, then in Asia followed by Africa and Eastern Europe (Colgate-Palmolive
Company, 2012). From perfumed soaps and toothpaste in jars, Colgate grew to sell
toothpaste in tubes, toothbrushes, fluoride-toothpaste products, all-around cleaning
products, personal hygiene products (hair care products and soap) and even pet
nutrition products. The soap products of Palmolive and the Peet Brothers progressed
to construct Palmolive antibacterial dishwashing liquids and the company's original
line of Home Care brands. Ajax and Nifti products center on general cleaning around
the household; most products under this line focus on cleaning the bathroom and tiles,
wiping through grease and grime, and cleaning up spills. Cold Power, Dynamo,
Fabuloso, Spree and Hurricane are all part of the company's catalog for laundry
detergents; they center on different aspects of laundry hence the broad list, which are
each implied on the labels (e.g. Cold Power products are used for cold water laundry,
Dynamo products are used for fast cleaning). The company's listing for fabric
conditioners include Cuddly and Fluffy; Cuddly products pivot on the softness of the
cloth and Fluffy products put the fragrance of the cloth into consideration. The
company's dishwashing products are Palmolive (Ultra and Regular) and Spree.
Colgate-Palmolive's Personal Care products include Irish Spring, which compose of
varying scented body washes and bar soaps, as well as a whole roll of Palmolive
products: shower gels, shower milks, body butters, hand washes (antibacterial and
foaming), bar soaps, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, shaving cream and talcum
powder. Protex is also one of their personal care products; these are cooling powders
and hand washes that are antibacterial and moisturizing. The company's Oral Care
products compose of toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwash and dental floss (Colgate-
Palmolive Company, 2013). Colgate-Palmolive's toothpastes, developed by their
subsidiary Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, focus on the prevention of oral bacteria and
its results, most especially plaque and gingivitis; whitening and in dealing with teeth
sensitivity (Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, 2006).
The company employed a consumer product strategy that would recreate their
products to better conform to the different locations that their consumers live in; it is
skilled in taking active measures to help the community and the environment. For
example in Colgate's Africa Division, a different type of packaging was used ("smart
packs") in order for them to be more affordable and to have the capability to be reused
or refilled. In Europe, the packaging of Paic dish liquid was "redesigned to remove
PVC from the waste stream and reduce consumed plastic by 178 metric tonnes
annually" and Natura Verde products (Ajax household cleaners, Palmolive
dishwashing liquids, Soupline fabric conditioners) sold there are made with untainted
ingredients and their bottles are made with 60% recycled resin and are completely
recyclable. The company's cleaning products that are sold in Norway, Sweden and
Finland have been remodeled to meet the criteria of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, which
measures a product's impact on the environment. Cold Power laundry detergent sold
in Australia and Mexico is designed to utilize maximum cleaning capacity when used
with cold water, which saves energy supposedly used for heating water; "Palmolive
eco+ automatic dishwasher detergent that was introduced in 2008 is phosphate-free,
which is better for lakes and streams". The company's most notable trademark,
toothpaste sold in tubes, also had an environmental effect; it "reduced consumption of
non-renewable energy and natural resources by 30% and greenhouse gas emissions by
about 50%" (Colgate-Palmolive Company, 2012).
The company acquired even more companies under its wing to expand their
business and to better serve their customers; it acquired Hoyt Laboratories (now
known as Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals), Hill's Pet Nutrition, Softsoap, Murphy Oil
Soap Co., Mennen Company, Kolynos Oral Care Co., GABA Oral Care Group, and
Tom's of Maine (Colgate-Palmolive Company, n.d.). Its acquisition of Hoyt
Laboratories, which consequently allowed for the expansion of research techniques
and developments, was integral to fully conquer the business of oral care products. As
Hill's Pet Nutrition acts as its subsidiary, the company has veterinarian-authorized pet
products focusing on cats and dogs. They offer two main diets: a Prescription Diet
(dubbed as Therapeutic Nutrition) and a Science Diet (dubbed as Wellness Nutrition);
they help prepare a diet that would be apt for the current condition or situation (most
especially disease conditions) of your cat and/or dog by recommending particular cat
and/or dog food products (Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., 2013). Softsoap products involve
body washes, hand soaps and bar soaps. The Murphy Oil Soap Company provides
products that clean wood and the Mennen Company sells talcum powder. These
acquisitions have a high plausibility of having resulted from the objective of synergy,
which is simply the assumption that performances will increase amongst these
partnerships and costs will decrease (Renaud, 2009). Kolynos Oral Care provided a
line of oral care products and was popular in South America (Colgate-Palmolive,
1995). Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s acquisition of Kolynos Oral Care, as implied by
Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s 1995 article, was out of the desire for market growth and
might have also been out of the goal of eliminating competition. This seems evident
as well in the acquisition of the GABA Oral Care Group, which was a large figure in
the European oral care market (GABA International AG, 2013). Through these
acquisitions, Colgate-Palmolive strengthened its grip and role as a strong-standing
entity in the oral care business. The addition of Tom's of Maine to the company was
essential, as the company grew closer to the objective of considering the
environmental impact of its actions. Tom's of Maine is a group that heavily values
environmental wellness and that principle influenced the company to take more active
steps towards the preservation and restoration of the environment (Tom's of Maine,
n.d.).
The Colgate-Palmolive Company wishes to continue its progress and to
positively affect other people's lives by continuing its quality service to its customers,
employees and to the community. The company hopes to strengthen its development
by creating more innovative products and by ensuring that all ingredients and
techniques reach the highest caliber. Its current environmental projects will continue
to be implemented such as reducing their waste, water consumption, energy
consumption, carbon emissions and overall environmental impact. As the company is
also greatly concerned with the general welfare of the community, the company will
provide generosity during calamities; top quality products through the company's
connections to worldwide facilities, researchers and scientists; talks and seminars
around the world to help more people become more aware of the importance of
handwashing; its free dental care education program Bright Smiles, Bright Futures
(Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, 2006); and promoting health wellness amongst their
employees by giving them health benefits (Colgate-Palmolive Company, 2012).
References:
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