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March 21, 2006
Colgate-Palmolive Buys Tom's of Maine
If you are the type who's bummed out to learn that Unilever owns Ben & Jerry's, or that Philip Morris owns Boca Burger, Balance Bar, and Altoids (you didn't know?), then prepare for another bummer.
Colgate-Palmolive Company announced today it will purchase 84 percent of natural toothpaste maker Tom's of Maine (not, of course, to be confused with Tom of Finland).
"The U.S. market for Natural oral and personal care products is valued at $3 billion and is growing at 15 percent per year," the company said in a statement. "Tom's of Maine, founded in 1970 by Tom and Kate Chappell, pioneered natural toothpaste, mouthwash, and deodorant, and is the #1 Oral Care Brand in the Natural category. Tom's of Maine gives Colgate the opportunity to enter the fast growing health and specialty trade channel where Tom's toothpaste is the clear market leader commanding 60% share of that channel."
"We have great admiration for Tom and Kate Chappell and the values-based business they have created," said Reuben Mark, Colgate's Chairman and CEO. He stopped short of saying which, if any, of those values would remain in the new Colgate unit, but said Tom Chappell will remain on and lead the company from its headquarters in Kennebunk, Maine.
Though I really have no need for them here, I have to retain the following canned quotes (which, surely were actually written by Colgate's PR department), just because they are so utterly lame and typical of a press release:
Ian Cook, Colgate's President and COO, said, "This acquisition allows Colgate to strongly enter a completely new channel of distribution and establishes us as the only global oral care company in that channel. This bodes well for additional opportunities in other high margin categories such as personal care. Further, our truly global reach will help speed the growth of the naturals health and specialty business outside the U.S. With gross profit margins a full ten percentage points higher than Colgate's margin, Tom's of Maine is a logical acquisition as we continue to prioritize our global oral and personal care categories."
Tom's of Maine co-founders Tom and Kate Chappell said, "We chose Colgate as our partner because they have the global expertise to help take Tom's of Maine to the next level. Just as importantly, we see Colgate as an excellent fit with our own cultural values. Colgate has a commitment to product excellence, to global efforts to promote oral health and has a 200-year history of caring for consumers and for giving back to the community. We are excited by Colgate's desire to continue Tom's of Maine leadership and heritage in natural care."
Mike Freak of CultureFreak.com said, "It's exciting to see Colgate use its robust, global reach to leverage the mom-and-pop stylings of Tom's of Maine and ramp it up into the stratosphere. I have soft spot in my heart for Tom's, having always enjoyed their cinnamon and, more recently, their awesome apricot toothpaste. But I have an even softer spot in my heart for Colgate's fantastic red and white logo. To see these companies become one almost makes me tear up."
Posted by MJuhre at March 21, 2006 10:26 AM