Softsoap

Softsoap is the trade name of Colgate-Palmolive's liquid hand soap and body wash.

William Sheppard of New York was granted patent number 49,561 for his "Improved Liquid Soap" on August 22, 1865, for his discovery that a small amount of conventional soap could be mixed with large amounts of spirits of ammonia (or hartshorn, as it was known at the time) to create a soap with a consistency of molasses. His invention became common in public areas, but was not generally available for use in homes.

In 1980, entrepreneur Robert R. Taylor (died August 29, 2013) began selling his product under the brand name of Softsoap, through his company, The Minnetonka Corporation, located in Chaska, Minnesota. Taylor knew others would copy the soap-in-a-pump-bottle idea, so he shrewdly purchased 100 million small bottle hand-pumps from the only two U.S. manufacturers that made them, so that any competitors wouldn't be able to buy any for one year - enough time for him to establish the brand name. The gamble worked! Within six months, he had sold $25 million worth of Softsoap. The package made it very easy to spot on store shelves when nearly all other soaps were still in bar form. Taylor sold the Softsoap brand to Colgate-Palmolive in 1987.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ John Rogers for Associated Press, "Robert R. Taylor, Creator of SoftSoap, Dead at 77", bigstory.ap.org, September 12, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.

External links

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