Tom's of Maine
Tom's of Maine: “Doing Business” Means “Doing Good”
Tom's of Maine was one of the first natural health care companies to distribute outside normal channels. The company holds fast to the values that got owners Tom and Kate Chappell started more than three decades ago, providing insight into how a small firm can grow while staying true to its founding principles in the midst of competition. Now that Tom's has been sold to Colgate, one wonders if those principles can be sustained in a large corporate environment.
Getting Tom's of Maine Going
Tom and Kate Chappell, dreaming of a line of all-natural, environmentally friendly household products, started Tom's of Maine in 1970. The company's first product, a phosphate-free detergent, was environmentally friendly, Tom Chappell says, but "it didn't clean so well." But consumers were interested in environmentally friendly products - and the toothpaste and soap that followed were more successful.
All of Tom's products were made with all-natural ingredients and packaged in recycled materials whenever possible. New personal care products, including shampoo and deodorant, were developed without animal testing. But the road to success wasn't always direct or fast. Tom's stand against "business as usual" made the company wait seven years longer and spend about ten times the usual sum to get the American Dental Association's seal of approval for its fluoride toothpastes. And mistakes were made. At a time when deodorant made up 25 percent of the business, Chappell reformulated the product for ecological reasons. Later, he realized that the new formulation "magnified the human bacteria that cause odor" in half its users. After much agonizing, Chappell took the product from his shelves at a cost of $400,000, 30 percent of the firm's projected profits for the year. Dissatisfied consumers were sent refunds and a letter of apology.
One pivotal event was the introduction of baking soda toothpaste. The gritty product had
Tom's of Maine was one of the first natural health care companies to distribute outside normal channels. The company holds fast to the values that got owners Tom and Kate Chappell started more than three decades ago, providing insight into how a small firm can grow while staying true to its founding principles in the midst of competition. Now that Tom's has been sold to Colgate, one wonders if those principles can be sustained in a large corporate environment.
Getting Tom's of Maine Going
Tom and Kate Chappell, dreaming of a line of all-natural, environmentally friendly household products, started Tom's of Maine in 1970. The company's first product, a phosphate-free detergent, was environmentally friendly, Tom Chappell says, but "it didn't clean so well." But consumers were interested in environmentally friendly products - and the toothpaste and soap that followed were more successful.
All of Tom's products were made with all-natural ingredients and packaged in recycled materials whenever possible. New personal care products, including shampoo and deodorant, were developed without animal testing. But the road to success wasn't always direct or fast. Tom's stand against "business as usual" made the company wait seven years longer and spend about ten times the usual sum to get the American Dental Association's seal of approval for its fluoride toothpastes. And mistakes were made. At a time when deodorant made up 25 percent of the business, Chappell reformulated the product for ecological reasons. Later, he realized that the new formulation "magnified the human bacteria that cause odor" in half its users. After much agonizing, Chappell took the product from his shelves at a cost of $400,000, 30 percent of the firm's projected profits for the year. Dissatisfied consumers were sent refunds and a letter of apology.
One pivotal event was the introduction of baking soda toothpaste. The gritty product had