Edge is an American brand of shaving gel manufactured by

Edgewell Personal Care The Edgewell Personal Care Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut. It was formed in 2015 following the corporate spin-off from Energizer Holdings. Edgewell Personal Care was formed ...

. The line includes Sensitive Skin, Extra Moisturizing, Extra Protection, Ultra Sensitive, Clean and Refreshing, and Soothing Aloe.

History

S. C. Johnson & Son launched the Edge brand nationally 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 territori ...

on March 24, 1970 with a $4 million advertising campaign. By 1975, Edge was reported to hold "10 percent or so" of the shaving cream and gel market and reached a 17% market share by 1982.

Lawsuits

S. C. Johnson held a patent for the shaving gel and successfully sued

Carter-Wallace Carter-Wallace was a personal care company headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Carter Products and Wallace Laboratories. The company has a research facility in Cranbury, New Jersey. History The company was form ...

for infringement based on its Rise brand gel. As a result, Rise gel was withdrawn from the market. The company also successfully sued

The Gillette Company Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

for infringement based on its Foamy brand gel.''Gillette Co. v. S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.''
919 F.2d 720
(Fed. Cir. 1990). Foamy, which had long been the best-selling shaving cream, had introduced a gel version in 1983 to compete with Edge. The trial court in the Gillette lawsuit found that Edge accounted for more than 20% of the market for shaving products at the time of trial, and the appellate court described the Edge gel product as "an overwhelming commercial success". Despite the lawsuit, Foamy gel remained on the market because by the time of the trial court's decision, S. C. Johnson's patent had expired. By 1993, Edge had reached 30% of the shaving cream and gel market, leading the category.

Sale to Energizer Holdings

S. C. Johnson sold the Edge brand to

Energizer Holdings Energizer Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of batteries, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces batteries under the Energizer, Ray-O-Vac, Varta, and Eveready brand names, and for ...

in 2009 to focus more on household chemicals and fragrances. In turn, Energizer spun off its personal care brands, including Edge, as a new corporation, Edgewell Personal Care, in 2015.

References

External links

* {{edgewell Products introduced in 1970 Shaving cream brands Edgewell Personal Care