Pond's is an American brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
.
History
Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist
Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. Mr. Pond extracted a healing tea from
witch hazel
Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...
'Hamamelis'' spp.which he discovered could heal small cuts and other ailments. The product was named "Golden Treasure." After Theron died, it would soon be known as "Pond's Extract."
In 1849, the ''T. T. Pond Company'' was formed with Pond and other investors. Soon after, he sold his portion of the company because of failing health. He died in 1852. In 1914, the company was incorporated under the name ''Pond's Extract Company''.
The company then moved to
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
establishing its manufacturing center there. Later it moved its sales office to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
In 1886, Pond's began to advertise nationally. They advertised under the name of Pond's Healing until 1910.
By the twentieth century, the company's main emphasis was selling cosmetics products. The "Pond's
Vanishing Cream
Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, Cream (pharmaceutical), creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare ...
" and the "Pond's
Cold Cream
Cold cream is an emulsion of water and certain fats, usually including beeswax and various scent agents, designed to smooth skin and remove makeup. Cold cream is an emulsion of water in a larger amount of oil, unlike the oil in water emulsion of ...
" were created, marking the entrance of Pond's products into the facial care industry. Today Pond's is sold around the world. Its largest markets are in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and in Asia, including India, Japan and Thailand.
1910s
![Pond's vanishing cream 1917](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Pond%27s_vanishing_cream_1917.jpg)
By 1910, Pond's was a well established brand among Americans. Concentrating mostly on their vanishing cream, the Pond's company began an ad campaign that would become popular because of the celebrities involved in it. "Pond's Healing" took a back seat to "Pond's Vanishing Cream", as "Pond's Healing" and "Pond's Cold Cream" would be announced in small print under the "Pond's Vanishing Cream" advertisements.
By 1914, mentions of "Pond's Healing" were taken off the ads, and the Pond's company began to advertise "Pond's Vanishing Cream" and "Pond's Cold Cream" together, making sure to explain each cream's different purposes on the new ads. One particular ad line read "Every normal skin needs these two creams".
As a result of the new campaign, "Pond's Vanishing Cream" had a 60% increase in sales during 1915, and "Pond's Cold Cream" had a 27% increase.
1920s
By 1922, sales of the products had gone down, as many believed that such an easily available product could not perform as well as other, "designer" products. Because of this, the Pond's Company then targeted royalty, politicians and people of
high class stature to become advertisers for the company. In addition, these ads were printed in magazines such as ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' and others, to give customers a feeling that they really were getting a quality product for a fair price.
In 1923,
Queen Marie of Romania
Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, ...
visited the United States, and she enjoyed the product so much that in 1925 she wrote to the Pond's Company requesting more supplies. Her letter was, in turn, used for advertisement, and Her Majesty joined the list of celebrities who had previously sponsored the products.
Around the time of Queen Marie's visit to the United States, the Pond's Company began to place samples of their products at their magazine ads, and the characters of "Peter" and "Polly Ponds" were created, as part of their campaign to entice normal people into buying their cream again. The marketing strategies proved successful, as sales of the Pond's facial creams went up again.
"Peter" and "Polly Ponds" disappeared from the company's ad campaigns after 1925.
1930s
During the
Depression Era
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
of the 1930s, the company's business slowed somewhat. However, the Pond's company expanded slowly, adding Face Powder and Angel Face products.
First merger
Pond's Company was merged in 1955 with the
Chesebrough Manufacturing Company
Chesebrough Manufacturing Company was an oil business, founded in 1859, which produced petroleum jelly or Vaseline, which was marketed with the brand name Luxor. Robert Augustus Chesebrough, a chemist who started the company, was interested in mar ...
, which had a good percentage of brands in the facial care field. With this merger, "Pond's Creams" became sisters with the
Cutex
Cutex is a brand of nail care products, owned by Revlon, Inc. The original product was developed and established in 1911 by Northam Warren Company, based in Stamford, Connecticut.
History
Northam Warren created the first fingernail cuticle remov ...
nail polish brand and the
Matchabelli perfumes.
With the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company in command, "Pond's Creams" became available at many supermarkets across the United States. The creams' bottles consisted of small, glass bottles with a round cap. The bottles were recognizable by their distinctive colors, usually in green, blue or white. The bottle design is still in use by the Pond's brand.
Second merger
In 1987, the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company, popularly known as "Chesebrough-Ponds", was acquired by
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...
-
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
company
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
, giving "Pond's Creams" a more international reach.
References
External links
Pond's official websitePond's Institute UK re-branding
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2021
Unilever brands
Products introduced in 1846