Lava (soap)
| Product type | Soap |
|---|---|
| Owner | WD-40 Company |
| Country | St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Introduced | 1893 |
| Previous owners |
|
| Website | www |
Lava is a heavy-duty hand cleaner in soap bar form manufactured by the WD-40 Company. Unlike typical soap bars, Lava contains ground volcanic pumice, which gave the soap its name. The company website states that the hand cleaner removes grease, grime, paint, ink, and glue.[1]
Lava's long-time slogan was "Cleans the dirt, protects the skin."[2]
History
Lava soap was developed in 1893 by the William Waltke Company of St. Louis.[3]
In 1927, Procter & Gamble acquired the Lava and Oxydol brands from William Waltke Company. P&G sold the Lava brand to Block Drug in 1995. That year Lava soap had annual retail sales of $6 million, while P&G's soap brands Zest and Ivory each had annual sales of $100 million. Block stated they were a niche marketer, and Lava would fit into the sector of cleaning products[2]
The WD-40 Company acquired the brand from Block Drug in April 1999.[4]
References
- ^ Lava soap website
- ^ a b Lazarus, George (November 21, 1995). "P&G washes its hands of longtime Lava soap". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ "Lava Heavy-Duty Hand Cleaning FAQ". Wd40.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
- ^ "Company News: WD-40 buys Solvol, an Australian hand soap concern". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 9, 2000. Retrieved July 11, 2020.