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:

1. New-York Historical Society. (n.d.). New York in the 1800's. Retrieved on

September 18, 2013 from http://www.nyhistory.org/seneca/nyc.html

2. Origins of business. (2008). Colgate - 1817. Retrieved on September 18, 2013

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/businesshistory/2608270079/

3. Bellis, M. (n.d.). History of soaps of detergents. Retrieved oN September 18,

2013 from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsoap.htm

4. Old Company Research Service. (n.d.). Peet brothers company. Retrieved on

September 18, 2013 from http://scripophily.net/peetbrotpals.html

5. Anderson, R. (1998-2013). Octagon soap. Retrieved on September 18, 2013

from http://rolandanderson.se/octagon.php

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http://www.colgate.com.au/app/CP/AU/PC/Products/Hair-Care.cvsp

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company.html

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/HomePage.cvsp

11. Colgate-Palmolive Company. (n.d.). Timeline. Retrieved on September 19,

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12. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. (2006). Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals.

Retrieved on September 19, 2013 from

http://www.dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/2006/09_September/Features/

CP_-_Colgate_Oral_Pharmaceuticals.aspx

13. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. (2013). Products. Retrieved on September 19, 2013

from http://www.hillspet.com.au/en-au/products.html

14. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (2013). Murphy oil soap. Retrieved on September 19,

2013 from http://www.colgate.com/murphy-oil-soap#/home/

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16. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (1995). Colgate to acquire kolynos expanding its #1

position in global oral care. Retrieved on September 19, 2013 from

http://investor.colgate.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=96908

17. Renaud, R. (2009). Why do companies merge with or acquire other

companies. Retrieved on September 19, 2013 from

http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/mareasons.asp

18. GABA International AG. (2013). Gaba international. Retrieved on September

19, 2013 from http://www.gaba.com/htm/406/

19. Tom's of Maine. (n.d.). Tom's of maine. Retrieved on September 19, 2013

from http://www.tomsofmaine.com/home