Redox Brands, Inc. Buys Procter & Gamble's Oxydol Brand; Two Former P&Gers Become Owners of the Brand

Business Wire,  July 6, 2000  

Tags: brand, Procter & Gamble Co.

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CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2000

Call it a dream come true. Two former employees of Procter & Gamble became owners of one of the company's heritage brands today with the formation of a new company, Redox Brands, Inc., and their purchase of P&G's oldest laundry detergent brand, Oxydol.

Redox co-founders Todd Wichmann and Richard Owen each worked for P&G for about eight years. Mr. Wichmann was the Brand Manager of Cascade Dishwashing Detergent and Mr. Owen served as a Senior Finance and Sales Manager. Today, they are toasting the realization of a long-standing dream -- to run their own consumer products company. Mr. Wichmann is President of the new company and Mr. Owen is Chief Operating Officer.

21st Century "Old Economy" Start-up

In an era of overnight e-commerce one-hit-wonders, two young marketing professionals embarking on their own venture is hardly news -- for the "New Economy," that is. But taking on an "Old Economy" brand from and having one of the world's leading consumer products companies as a minority shareholder is a different story. As part of the financial agreement, P&G will retain a minority stake in the new company.

"While there is a lot of hype right now about dot-coms, when we evaluated our own interests and passion, it was clear. We want to work with real products that have real profits," said Mr. Owen.

"From the time I heard that the Oxydol brand was for sale in March, I never doubted that P&G would give us an opportunity to propose our idea. It is no secret that P&G encourages entrepreneurial spirit -- that is how they create superior brands," said Mr. Wichmann.

Both Mr. Owen and Mr. Wichmann have seen many facets of the P&G business. Both began their P&G careers as chemical engineers developing laundry products. Mr. Wichmann, 30, later followed a marketing path and Mr. Owen, 31, pursued sales and finance.

Mr. Wichmann and Mr. Owen met as P&G interns in 1991 and started with P&G as full-time employees in 1992. They aren't just business associates, they're friends, and encouraged each other to earn MBAs from Xavier University to expand their career opportunities. Ironically, their joint project in an entrepreneurial class was to create a business plan for a regional laundry products company -- much like the one they're seeing to fruition nearly five years later.

The founders' science and technical background is evident in their choice of company names -- a "redox" chemical reaction delivers a compound from an unreactive, low energy state to a reactive, high energy state. That's just what they have in mind for Oxydol.

"Oxydol had long been a leading brand until P&G decided it didn't fit into its global corporate strategy," said Mr. Owen. "Oxydol is still a superior product with incredible upside potential. We believe we can occupy a unique place in the laundry detergent segment that is not occupied by other brands," Mr. Wichmann said.

They plan to revitalize Oxydol in a number of ways to make its mark in the $6 billion U.S. category. For one, they will unveil an aggressive marketing plan to the trade in the fall, something that had not been done for several years as P&G shifted attention to its world market leaders. Also, a liquid version of Oxydol is on the drawing board. Oxydol will be represented in the trade by Marketing Specialists Corp.

Redox's Unique Formation

Redox is a private company financed by a group of investors led by Meriwether Capital Corp. in New York. "Our acquisition of Oxydol means this brand will be stewarded and further developed with, not just business acumen, but historical care too," said Mr. Wichmann. "This is a unique model for divesting a brand."

Redox fills an unprecedented market niche. As leading consumer products companies are rapidly focusing on the global market, some brands are falling outside of the companies' strategies simply because they are sold only in the U.S.

Redox hopes to build its organization by acquiring cleaning brands that have specific U.S. appeal. "Maintaining a national versus global focus for our brands will enable us to closely monitor and better meet the needs of our customers and consumers," said Mr. Wichmann.

Oxydol Introduces First Soap Opera

Oxydol was Procter & Gamble's first laundry detergent and introduced in 1927. From its start Oxydol paved the way in marketing techniques, from door-to-door sampling to metal "coin" coupons (later to be replaced with paper) to "slice of life" magazine cartoon ads. It was Oxydol that put the soap in "soap opera" when it created the genre through its sponsorship of the radio show "Ma Perkins" in 1933.

About Redox Brands, Inc.