Today, the Colgate name is synonymous with toothpaste – they’re probably the most popular brand for keeping teeth clean across the whole world.
But company founder, Englishman William Colgate, didn’t care for teeth when he started his company.
In fact, Colgate first produced soap and toiletries using tallow (beef fat). Even when the company did start making toothpaste, it had one significant difference to the Colgate products you’ll see on supermarket shelves today.
In the early days, Colgate toothpaste came in small glass jars instead of squeezy tubes. It was called ‘aromatic’ toothpaste and fell more in line with the perfume that made up the bulk of their product range. It wasn’t until 1896 that it popped up in the squeezy tubes we know today.