Zest is an American brand of soap and body wash owned by Sodalis USA (formerly High Ridge Brands) for the

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, and

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and by

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

for the rest of the world. It was initially introduced by

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

in 1955 with the slogan "For the first time in your life, feel really clean."

History

Zest was initially introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1955 and nationally launched in 1957. Zest was initially positioned as a deodorant bar that included both standard soap and synthetic detergent ingredients. The synthetic detergent ingredient prevented the deposition of

soap scum Soap scum or lime soap is the white solid composed of calcium stearate, magnesium stearate, and similar alkaline earth metal derivatives of fatty acids. These materials result from the addition of soap and other anionic surfactants to hard water ...

in the presence of hard water. Marbled in appearance, Zest came in two variants: Aqua and the yellow, lemon-scented Citrus. By the mid-1960s, the bar no longer had a marbled appearance. In 1977, Procter & Gamble launched Zest in France, followed by Italy and the UK in 1982. The European version of Zest was yellow and marbled, and it used the same formulation as

Coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

in the U.S. The brand was subsequently withdrawn in Europe. In 2011, Procter & Gamble sold the North American and Caribbean rights of Zest to

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VI LP, a

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-based firm, through its subsidiary, High Ridge Brands Company (HRB). A company representative from P&G answers why the company decided to sell off Zest: "We continually evaluate all the brands in the portfolio against their strategic fit and value in our longer term global goals. In this case, we felt that Zest, with its great equity in 'clean'...and loyal core following in the U.S. and Canada, was a better value fit for a company that would bring greater focus to it." HRB was acquired by Italian company Sodalis Group in October 2024. In 2015, Unilever acquired the rights to the Zest brand outside of North America and the Caribbean from Procter & Gamble.

Marketing

Early commercials stated that Zest is not a soap because it does not leave the sticky film that soap does. A 1970-era commercial illustrated this concept with an apparent demonstration in which two photographs of a person were each dipped in one of two bowls, one labeled "soap" and the other "Zest." The photograph of the "soap" bowl had a scummy coating, whereas the one that came out of the "Zest" bowl had no such coating. The brand experienced an upswing in sales in the 1980s and early 1990s, with the advertising slogan "You're not fully clean unless you're Zestfully clean!" coined by the

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

eer James Jordan. One commercial showed a teenage girl who used ordinary soap scratching her back against the metal pole of a school bus stop sign at her bus stop because her soap left a sticky film that she couldn't see but could certainly feel. While she is still scratching her back, the bus shows up. Yet another commercial featured NFL fullback Craig "Ironhead" Heyward promoting the Zest bodywash product: a liquid in a plastic bottle. Television commercials would incorporate the slogan as part of the jingle and end with someone displaying a towel with the "Zestfully clean" slogan on the back; these towels have often been given away in company promotions. In 2007, in a seeming about-face of their 'no soap film' policy, Procter & Gamble discontinued the old product and relaunched Zest with a size reduced by 11% (from 4.5 to 4.0 ounces), a new bar shape, and a new, more intense fragrance. The product line was extended with the introduction of Zest body wash. A recent perusal of their support site yielded the following claim: "Zest Linen Fresh, Tropical Fresh, and Tangerine Mango Twist are no longer made with synthetic ingredients. They're 100% soap and have a new 'surf' shape." At one time, the range of products marketed as Zest comprised Aqua Pure, Energy Fresh, Linen Fresh, Ultimate Clean (said to offer antibacterial action), Spring Burst, Tropical Fresh, and Whitewater Fresh; along with three liquid body washes, Spring Splash, Morning Garden, and Ocean Energy. The Zest site now features several variants: Aqua-Pure, Aloe Splash, Ocean Energy (featuring Energizing Effects), Mint Explosion (featuring Stimulating Effects), Tangerine Mango Twist (featuring Stimulating Effects), and Whitewater Fresh (which was initially discontinued in 2006 but was brought back in 2012). Each variant was advertised as available as a bar and a bottled liquid labeled as "Bodywash".

References

External links

Zest soap official US site
{{Unilever Soap brands Unilever brands Former Procter & Gamble brands Products introduced in 1955