Air Wick is an American brand of air freshener owned by the British multinational company

Reckitt Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the mer ...

. It was first launched by creator Guy Paschal in 1943 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and is now sold worldwide.

History

Air Wick was first introduced in 1943 in the United States. In 1973, Air Wick had sales of $33.5 million, and earnings of $2.7 million, prompting the Swiss pharmaceutical company

Ciba-Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loca ...

(now

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

) to investigate purchasing them. Ciba-Geigy took brief control of the company in 1974, before selling it to the British household products company Reckitt & Colman (now

Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...

) in December 1984. The sale was partly motivated by what Ciba-Geigy's top management saw as a product that was at odds with their corporate culture; their rationale was that as a chemical business, they should not be involved with consumer products. In October 2007, Reckitt Benckiser won a High Court ruling in a lawsuit with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

, over claims that the design of Air Wick Odour Stop was an exact copy of P&G's

Febreze Febreze is an American brand of household odor eliminators manufactured by Procter & Gamble. It is sold in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. First introduced in test markets in March 1996, the fabric ...

air spray. In March 2012, Air Wick announced its partnership with the official charity of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, the

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientif ...

. The company launched four new scents inspired by

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the Kona District on the Big island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It includes the National Historic Landmarked archaeological site known a ...

Virgin Islands National Park The Virgin Islands National Park is an American national park preserving about 60% of the land area of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands, as well as more than of adjacent ocean, and nearly all of Hassel Island, just off the Char ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, and

Glacier Bay National Park Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925. C ...

. Portions of the sales went to the

, to aid National Parks.

Products

The current Air Wick range includes the following products: * Scented Oils * Essential Mist Diffuser * Automatic Sprays (Timed Air Freshener) *

Aerosol Spray Aerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. It comprises a can or bottle that contains a payload, and a propellant under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the payload is forced out ...

* V.I.P. Pre-Poop Toilet Spray

References

External links

Official website
Cleaning product brands Cleaning products Products introduced in 1943 Reckitt brands {{US-company-stub