Procter & Gamble
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Who is Procter & Gamble?
Which brands does P&G manufacture?
Historical Timeline of P&G
Historical Timeline of Charmin
Questions/Comments
Who is Proctor & Gamble?
Procter & Gamble started as The Charmin Paper Company, producing paper towels and tissues until the union of the two enterprises in 1957. As a “joined force” with Procter & Gamble, they produce and market the softest and most popular bath tissue in the retail industry – Charmin. Today, with operations in over 80 countries, P&G holds the largest and strongest brand portfolio of any consumer products good company in the world with a focus on products that offer “Everyday Solutions”.
Which consumer brands does P&G manufacture?
Air Fresheners
• Febreze
Antiperspirants, Deodorants, & Colognes
• Old Spice
• Secret
Baby & Child Care
• Charmin
• Children’s Pepto
• Clearblue Easy
• Dreft
• Luvs
• Pampers
• Pampers Kandoo
• Pampers UnderJams
• Puffs
Batteries
• Duracell
Body Wash & Soap
• Camay
• Ivory
• Olay
• Old Spice
• Safeguard
• Zest
Beauty – Makeup/Skincare
• CoverGirl
• Max Factor
• Braun
• Gillette Complete Skincare
• Olay
Dish Washing
• Cascade
• Dawn
• Ivory
• Joy
Feminine Care
• Always
• Tampax
Hair Care/ Color
• Aussie
• Clairol
• Head & Shoulders
• Herbal Essences
• Infusium 23
• Pantene
Health Care
• Align
• Braun
• Clearblue Easy
• Fibersure
• Metamucil
• Pepto-Bismol
• Prilosec OTC
• PUR
• Vicks
Household Cleaners
• Bounty
• Febreze
• Mr. Clean
• Swiffer
Laundry & Fabric Care
• Bounce
• Cheer
• Downy
• Dreft
• Era
• Febreze
• Gain
• Ivory
• Tide
Oral Care
• Braun
• Crest
• Crest Glide
• Crest Whitestrips
• Fixodent
• Gleem
• Scope
• Oral-B
Paper Products
• Bounty
• Charmin
• Puffs
Pet Nutrition
• Eukanuba
• Iams
Shaving
• Braun
• Gillette Fusion
• Gillette M3Power
• Gillette SatinCare
• Gillette Venus
Snacks
• Pringles
| 1837 | William Procter (a candle maker from England) and James Gamble (a soap maker from Ireland) immigrate to Cincinnati, Ohio and begin selling their products. A formal partnership is signed on October 31, 1837. |
| 1850 | Procter & Gamble begin printing the “Moon and Stars” on their packaged products, as their unofficial trademark. |
| 1859 | Procter & Gamble reaches the one million-dollar mark! |
| 1862 | Numerous contracts were awarded to P&G, during the Civil War, to supply soap and candles to the Union armies. |
| 1890 | William Alexander Procter, younger son of Mr. Procter, becomes the first President of the company. That same year, he builds one of the American industry’s first research labs for products. |
| 1907-1920 | William Cooper Procter, son of William Alexander, takes over as Head of the company. Crisco is invented and introduced, and the company’s candles are discontinued with the development of the electric light bulb!Over the next three decades, Procter & Gamble develops many more products. Tide detergent, Drene shampoo, Duncan Hines Cake Mix, and Crest toothpaste are just a few of the products that brought the company much wealth, during that time. |
| 1957-1961 | P&G enters the paper product industry with the acquisition of Charmin Paper Mills, and Pampers are brought to the test market. The original Charmin “family” included paper towels, facial tissue and bath tissue, however; P&G discontinued all but bath tissue for their product market. |
| 1973 | Procter & Gamble patents a new manufacturing technique to produce softer Charmin tissue. |
| 1978 | Charmin becomes available in all 50 states, and the new 6-roll package is introduced. |
| 1986 | P&G creates the 12-roll package. |
| 1994-1997 | Charmin’s products just keep coming! The Charmin Mega Roll, the double roll, the triple roll, and the “Big Squeeze” mega size roll are created. |
| 1999 | Procter & Gamble introduces its biggest upgrade in 10 years-the new, most absorbent Charmin toilet tissue with the same softness. |
| 2002 | P&G develops Naturella feminine pads specifically for needs of low-income women in Latin America. |
| 2006 | To aid the global crisis of unsafe drinking water in developing countries, P&G launches the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program using their PUR water system. |
| 1928 | Charmin is manufactured by Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. |
| 1932 | Charmin 4-roll package introduced. |
| 1940s | Modern typestyle replaces script lettering on product label. |
| 1950s | Hoberg changes name to Charmin Paper Company. Continues to produce bath tissue, paper napkins and other paper products. |
| 1953 | New baby graphic added to bath tissue packaging to symbolize Charmin’s gentle softness and quality. The “Charmin Baby” is born and takes its place on packaging, along with the “Charmin Lady”. |
| 1956 | “Charmin Lady” replaced with “Charmin Babies Your Skin” graphics on product packaging. |
| 1957 | Procter & Gamble (P&G) acquires Charmin Paper Company. The original Charmin family included paper towels, paper napkins, facial tissue and bath tissue. P&G eventually discontinued all products — except bath tissue — which it continued to distribute on a regional basis. |
| 1964 | Mr. Whipple (a.k.a. “George the Grocer”) character created to promote Charmin’s “squeezable softness.” Appears for more than 20 years in Charmin television, radio and print advertising.Charmin becomes first one-ply bath tissue to add perfume. |
| 1970s | Charmin commercials feature former “Knots Landing” TV series star Joan Van Ark and Charlotte Rae, from television’s “Facts of Life” sitcom. |
| 1973 | P&G patents a new manufacturing technique which produces softer Charmin. This new paper is softer, while its strength remains the sameConsumer tests in show the product is preferred more than 3-to-1 over the leading competition. |
| 1978 | Mr. Whipple, who earned acclaim admonishing his commercial customers, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!” – is named the third best-known American – just behind former President Nixon and Billy Graham.“Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” named by R.H. Bruskin Associates as the most recognizable advertising slogan among those tested – being identified by eight out of ten persons.
Charmin bath tissue expanded nationwide — now available in all 50 states. Charmin Plus 6-roll package introduced. |
| 1985 | Actor Dick Wilson, who portrayed Mr. Whipple for more than 20 years, appearing in more than 500 commercials, hangs up his grocer’s apron. |
| 1986 | To meet consumer demands, Charmin introduces unscented Charmin and Charmin Free products (free of inks, dyes and perfumes). P&G introduces Charmin 12-roll package. |
| 1994 | Charmin introduces “Big Squeeze” (9-roll pack with rolls 1½ the size of a regular roll) and the Double Roll (contained twice as many sheets as a regular roll) to keep pace with changing consumer needs. |
| 1997 | Charmin Triple Roll is introduced. Charmin continues its soft and strong heritage and fits on a standard bathroom roll holder. |
| 1998 | Charmin celebrates its 70th birthday! |
| 1999 | In June 1999, P&G introduced in what was its biggest upgrade in 10 years, new Charmin making it the most absorbent regular bath tissue, while maintaining its renowned softness. After a 14 year hiatus, Actor Dick Wilson (a.k.a. Mr. Whipple) returns to star in new television commercials to introduce this Charmin upgrade. Charmin Kid Fresh® is introduced bringing the only moist flushable wipe for kids to the Charmin family of products. Charmin Kid Fresh and Charmin Ultra, used together, are a potty training success story. |
| 2002 | Charmin introduced Fresh Mates Clothes, which were soft, pre-moistened wipes sold in a tub. |
| 2005 | Charmin launched three successful new products including Charmin Basic, which featured the softness of Charmin we all know and love at a competitive economical price, Charmin Mega Roll, which combined four regular rolls into one, and the Charmin Extender, which allowed the Mega Roll to fit easily into consumers’ current toilet paper holders. |
Do you have any questions/comments on Procter & Gamble or Charmin?
How did the brand name Charmin originate?
Charmin’s name and logo were officially registered by Hoberg Paper in 1928, and were designed to look like the feminine fashions of the day. The original packaging was of a light blue shade, similar to the color of a lady’s ball gown. It featured the silhouette of a woman’s head from a cameo pin. She became known as the “Charmin Lady”! The script lettering was taken from the lettering on a woman’s hatbox of the 1920’s. Charmin’s design was described as “charming,” by an employee. Thus, the “Charmin” brand name was created (pronounced “shar – min”).
Are there any harmful chemicals in Charmin’s tissue?
The pulp in Charmin’s products is created using ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) purification methods. These methods are established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a basic regulation for the pulp and paper industry.
How and when did the Procter & Gamble trademark originate?
P&G’s trademark originated around 1851, when many products did not carry a visible brand name. Even people who could not read could see P&G’s trademark and know they would get consistent quality. The original trademark was refined into a star which multiplied into thirteen stars for the 13 original colonies and a man-in-the-moon, a popular decorative fancy of the 1800’s.
What other brand names do Procter & Gamble produce for the Towels and Tissue industry?
For North America, P&G produces Bounty towels, Charmin toilet tissue, Charmin’s Kid Fresh Wipes, and Puffs (2-ply) facial tissue.
*Latin America- Bounty, Charmin, Cheff, Finess, Lirio, Lunch, and Puffs
*Europe/Middle East/Africa-Bess, Charmin, and Tempo
*Asia-Tempo brand only
Have a question about Procter &Gamble or Charmin that you can’t find answered here? Shoot us an email to CS@ToiletPaperWorld.com. We’ll be happy to respond and then add the information to the site!