Colgate is an American multinational brand principally used for oral hygiene products such as toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes and dental floss. Manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate's oral hygiene products were first sold by the company in 1873, sixteen years after the death of the founder, William Colgate. The company originally sold soap.
History
Colgate toothpaste was sold in glass jars since 1873. Tubes, as pioneered by Kalodont, Johnson & Johnson (Zonweiss) and Sheffield, were introduced in 1896.
Colgate became popular in the 1950s, with the slogan "It Cleans Your Breath While It Cleans Your Teeth", written by copywriter Alicia Tobin.
In 2007, the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK told Colgate that it could no longer make the claim that four out of five dentists recommended Colgate. The investigation showed that the study had telephone surveyed dentists to list the toothpaste they recommended, and their competitors were recommended at similar rates. The claim was deemed deceptive.
In 2015, oral care products (principally produced under the Colgate brand) were the Colgate-Palmolive company's largest source of income, making up around US$7.5 billion, or 47% of net sales globally (with personal care products such as shampoos making up 20%, home care products such as laundry detergents 19% and pet nutrition making up the remaining 14%).