Pampers Brand History

The Birth of a Category

The birth of the Pampers brand is arguably P&G’s best example of what happens when there is
healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo. In 1956, a P&G researcher, Vic Mills, disliked
changing the cloth diapers of his newborn grandchild. So he assigned fellow researchers in
P&G’s Exploratory Division in Miami Valley, Ohio to look into the practicality of making a better
disposable diaper.

At the time, disposable diapers were used in less than 1% of the billions of diaper changes in the
United States each year.

P&G’s first test market was a fortunate

failure. It was conducted in Dallas, Texas
during the summer of 1958. The
temperature was in the 90s and the plastic
pants made the babies uncomfortable.
Additionally, the plastic pants were not low
cost and consumers told us that they
couldn’t purchase them often. These initial
design and marketing problems turned out
to be a blessing in disguise. P&G went back
to the drawing board to create a low cost,
better-designed product that consumers
could purchase frequently.

Six months after the Dallas test market,

P&G designed a diaper with better features
including zee pleats, superior containment,
a hydrophobic topsheet and a plastic
backsheet. After 37,000 diapers were
prepared, largely by hand, market testing
began again. This time, the results were favorable and Pampers began to move out of its
infancy.

Going Global
Touching lives, improving life: this was as important to use in the 1970s as it is today. In 1971,
P&G expanded the Pampers brand around the world, working with regional teams to make sure
they understood the cultural differences and parenting preferences in order to produce and
market an affordable disposable diaper. Whether working to understand the highly discriminating
Japanese consumer or to opening the first international plant in Euskirchen, Germany, global
teamwork was a critical factor.

Today, Pampers is P&G’s biggest global brand, with products serving consumers in 98 countries.
And they’ve worked hard over the past fifty years to create the infrastructure to support this
growth. In the 1970s, P&G learned that what they couldn’t do alone, they could do with a global
partner and joint ventures became as important to us as our acquisitions. Additionally, P&G was
the first U.S. company to create a truly global brand, making Pampers as familiar a term in
Singapore as it is in South Dakota.

Pampers Restage
In P&G ‘s continued search to find ways to improve their products, they went to the task of finding
a leakage solution. They started working in 1973 to perfect the fitted diaper -- an hour-glass
shaped pad with flexible, elastic gathers. In 1976, they made the fateful decision to test market
the new shaped design under a second brand name – an approach that was consistent with their
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“new benefit, new brand” philosophy of the time. Since it was an expensive diaper to make, they
launched it at a 30% premium price over Pampers and called it Luvs.

Although research indicated this cost differential strongly supported a separate-brand strategy,
immediately upon launch and national expansion, Luvs began to cannibalize Pampers’ sales.

1984 was a watershed year. In the largest single construction project in P&G history, they
invested over $500 million to re-platforming their systems. More than 100 lines worldwide were
converted to produce Pampers “Blue Ribbon,” a new fitted diaper with a thicker core and softer
topsheet. But it was Pampers Ultra, with more product innovations since the brand’s inception,
that ultimately helped regain market share leadership from Huggies and reestablish Pampers as
the #1 share brand in the market.

Inspired by Babies
By 1990, P&G had been learning about baby care for more than three decades and had heavily
invested in market research and focus group efforts around the world to understand what moms
wanted for their babies. They created superior products and then worked to improve them -- for
mom, the environment, and ultimately, for baby.

By 2001, they began to instill a greater design focus into their product mix, developing holistic
innovations to delight consumers around the world. Whether aligning product benefits with
developmental milestones, co-branding diapers with endearing, child-friendly characters or
creating a Parenting Institute to provide outreach on health, wellness, and nutrition for mothers
and babies, they’ve been listening. They are inspired by babies to make a lasting difference in
the lives of our customers.

Caring for Babies’ and Toddlers’ Development

In 2005, after nearly a decade of business decline, Global Baby Care returned to growth behind
four pillars -- a clear, focused strategy; a global, diverse leadership team; a concentration on
building systems and capability; and an inspired culture.

For the first time in P&G’s global history, they delivered three straight years of volume, sales,
profits and share growth behind their highly successful “4C” strategic choices:

• Winning the consumer value equation by knowing our target consumer better than the
competition;

• Creating a cost advantage versus the competition with focus on “better, cheaper, and
faster” business solutions;

• Winning with customers via improved in-store presence and shopping experiences;

• Creating an inclusive, externally focused, culture in Baby Care.

In shifting efforts from business turnaround to sustainable growth, P&G is driven by the vision
to become the best Baby and Toddler Care Company in the world by touching lives and
improving the lives of babies, toddlers and caregivers around the world.
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Chronology:

Year Historical Moment Visual Representation

1956 Vic Mills assigned researchers at
Miami Valley to investigate the
practicality of a disposable diaper.

1958 First product placement -- Dallas, TX.

1959 P&G became the first in the world to

design a continuous process, diaper
manufacturing machine that could
produce 150 pads per minute.

1961 First product upgrade incorporated a

one-piece plastic backsheet and a
hydrophobic topsheet.

1961 Initial design is introduced into test

market in Peoria, IL

1962 First successful marketing campaign –

P&G Professional Services hospital
program encouraged nurses and
pediatric wards to begin using
Pampers instead of cloth diapers.
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1964 P&G applied for first Pampers patent

in the United States; the patent is
received in 1967.

1965 First of 8 diaper production lines

opened in the Cheboygan, Michigan
plant.

1966 First of 22 Pampers lines were added

to the Mehoopany, Pennsylvania
plant, joining Charmin and County
product lines.

1969 Pampers completed national

expansion in the U.S.
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1971 Pampers with adhesive tapes rolled

out, replacing diaper pins.

1971 Pampers began globalization with

entry into Canada and Japan.

1976 P&G launched Pampers Quilted

Comfort featuring a quilted, stay-dry
liner for improved baby dryness.

1979 Pampers became a billion dollar

brand.

1980 P&G launched the first Pampers

Value Pack.

1980 P&G launched Pampers Custom

Quilted, a dryness upgrade in the U.S.

1982 Pampers with new Stay Dry Leg

Gathers launched in the U.S.
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1984 Pampers began the global conversion

process to re-platform shaped and
fitted diapers with the launch of
Pampers Shaped Diapers in the U.S.

1986 Pampers became P&G’s first 2 billion

dollar brand.

1986 P&G launched Pampers Ultra – the

first diaper to feature a super thin,
shaped core with AGM, a granular
material that swells in contact with
fluid and becomes a gel.

1988 P&G acquired Mammi brand diapers

in Venezuela, which allows entry into
Latin America.

1989 P&G entered into joint venture

partnerships with Arbora/Ausonia on
the Dodot diapers and wipes brand in
Spain.
1990 Pampers became P&G’s first 3 billion
dollar brand.
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1990 Pampers Phases were launched in

the U.S., providing diapers to meet
the developmental needs of a child,
from newborn to infant to crawler to
toddler.

1990 P&G entered into a joint venture

diaper brand partnership with
Eczacibasi Group in Turkey.

1991 P&G acquired Duffy brand diapers in

Argentina.

1991 P&G entered into a joint venture

partnership with Equimad on the
Babysan brand diapers in Argentina.

1992 Pampers became P&G’s first 4 billion

dollar brand.

1992 Pampers Ultra III was launched in the

U.S. with the introduction of CS-10
with extra wicking for increased
dryness.

1993 Pampers Trainers were launched in

the U.S., introducing P&G’s first pull-
on diaper.
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1994 Pampers Stretch upgrade introduced

stretchy side panels preventing gaps
and leaks.

1994 P&G and Fater SPA form a joint

venture to market diapers and wipes
in Western Europe.

1995 Pampers extended its product lineup

to include a premium tier, Pampers
Premium.

1995 Pampers Wipes began globalization in

Europe and CEEMEA.

1996 P&G acquires Baby Fresh, and enters

the baby wipes business in the U.S.

1998 P&G acquires Cutie brand diapers in

South Korea.
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1999 Baby Care becomes one of the seven

P&G global businesses. Mark
Ketchum is named first president of
Global Baby Care.

2000 P&G launched Pampers Sensitive

Wipes in the U.S.

2001 P&G launched Pampers Bibsters, a

disposable bib, in the U.S.

2001 P&G launched Pampers Sunnies, a

swimpant, in Europe.

2001 Deb Henretta was named President of

Global Baby Care.

2002 Pampers Premium segment was

restaged behind the Baby’s Stages of
Development with Swaddlers,
Cruisers and Easy Ups.

2002 Pampers Baby Dry “Koala” initiative

launched in Europe with fit grips
upgrade.

2002 Pampers Baby Wipes were upgraded

with new softer and thicker substrate
sheet.
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2002 Project Enterprise completed a global

replatforming of Pampers to embrace
its new BSOD lineup, increasing
manufacturing capacity to 875 diapers
per minute by 2005.

2002 Changemats and Bedmats,

disposable protective liners, launched
in Europe.

2002 Vietnam Manufacturing Project was

tested, creating a low-cost solution to
bring affordable diapers to developing
markets.

2003 Kandoo, P&G’s first toilet wipe for

kids, launched in Europe.

2003 Project Neptune completed a global

replatforming of Baby Wipes
manufacturing process.

2003 Pampers Basica, a low-cost

disposable diaper, was launched in
Latin America.

2004 Pampers became P&G’s first 5 billion

dollar brand.

2004 Pampers Feel ‘N Learn, a new trainer

pant with a wet sensation liner, was
launched in the U.S. and completes
the Toddler Stages of Development
lineup.

2004 Project Obelisk resulted in a “better

and cheaper” manufacturing solution
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in Latin America and extends

Pampers reach to all consumer
segments.

2004 Baby Wipes “Pangea” initiative

created a single supply system for a
common global substrate and a better
product at a lower cost.

2005 Pampers became P&G’s first 6 billion

dollar brand.

2005 Baby and Toddler Care Global

Headquarters opened at Winton Hill
Business Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2005 Martin Riant became Global Baby and

Adult Care President.

2006 Significant anniversaries were

celebrated: Pampers was 45 and the
Pampers Parenting Institute was 10
years old.

2006 An on-site Child Development Center

opened at the Winton Hill Business
Center.
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2007 Pampers became P&G’s first $7

billion brand on 07/07/07 – a
remarkable milestone in a 46 year
history of dedication to helping to
make life a little bit better each day for
babies and toddlers and the parents
who love them.
2008 Pampers partners with UNICEF
creating the “One Package = One
Vaccine” campaign.

2008 Pampers announced $8 Billion in

sales on 08/08/08.

2010 Pampers improved Cruisers and

Swaddlers with its Dry Max design,
which are 2x drier, thinner and allow
baby to move and play better.

2011 Pampers celebrates another

milestone -- its 50th birthday – and in
turn celebrating, supporting and
protecting little miracles for 50 years!