Mentholatum Timeline

1889 - STARTUP Yucca Company founded by A.A Hyde in Wichita, Kansas
(Yucca Co. was the precursoe to the Mentholatum Co.)

1895 The Mentholatum trademark is registered

1903 Edward Hyde opens a branch plant in Buffalo, New York

1906 For the first time, the name The Mentholatum Company was formally used.
Mentholatum Canada (MCAN) opened in Ontario, Canada

1910 First Advertising Postcard - The activities depicted on this 1910 postcard represented everything that made A.A. Hyde happy, e.g. a sunddy day at the lake, fishing, boating and motoring

1913 The Omi Brotherhood
starts selling in Japan

1917 Little Nurse mark was introduced on product packaging

1919 Buffalo factory is built on Niagara Street

1923 Mentholatum U.K. (MUK) opened Slough plant

1954 Deep Heat® was introduced in the U.K.

1975 Rohto becomes Mentholatum's licensee in Japan

1983 Mentholatum Asia Pacific (MAP) office opens in Hong Kong

1988 Rohto acquires management rights to the Mentholatum Company Inc.

1989 Mentholatum celebrates 100th anniversary

1993 Rohto launches Sunplay® suncare in Japan

1995 Rohto establishes Rohto-Mentholatum Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (RMM) in Selangor, Malaysia.

2000 Rohto-Mentholatum Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (RMM) launches Sunplay® suncare in Malaysia

2002 Mentholatum acquires the Selsun® brand

2004 Mentholatum U.S. (MUS) acquires the OXY® brand globally

2009 Rohto-Mentholatum Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (RMM) launches Hada Labo skin care products

2013 Rohto-Mentholatum Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. moved to new office location at Bangsar South on the 25th February 2013.

The Mentholatum Company

The Mentholatum Company is a manufacturer and marketer of non-prescription drugs and healthcare products. Headquarter is in Orchard Park, New York, U.S.A. with operations in Australia, South Africa, Canada, Scotland, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Korea, China, and Japan. Manufacturing is carried out in 26 locations around the globe and marketing/distribution in over 150 countries. The company, privately held for 99 years, was acquired by Rohto Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan in 1988.

Rohto is a major player in the Japanese pharmaceutical market with top selling products in the eye care, topical, and stomach relief categories.

The Mentholatum Company's roots trace back to Wichita, Kansas. In 1889, despite a severe economic depression, Albert Alexander Hyde began a new venture, the Yucca Company, and turned it into a successful manufacturer and marketer of soap and shaving cream.

One of his earliest remedies was a cough syrup, made from a soothing blend of camphor and menthol. Hyde became intrigued by the relieving properties of menthol and sought to develop an ointment that would relieve a head or chest cold, headache or sore throat. After four years of research and consultation with pharmacists and physicians, he introduced his very first Mentholatum Ointment, which we still sell to this day.

Since 1889, The Mentholatum Company has grown and prospered from a small purveyor of soaps and toiletries into an international company, marketing quality healthcare products around the world.

In the United States and many countries around the world, the Mentholatum family of products has earned a reputation of quality and value. Every Mentholatum brand is sold with an unconditional guarantee of satisfaction.

Our Pledge to You

• We work wholeheartedly to support society, to help create a better world.
• For this purpose we are resolved to learn constantly without pretension, to strive toward continuous improvement, and to fulfill our lives meaningfully.
• We place the highest importance in earning the trust and respect of our assocates and our external customers.
• We take pride in setting this supreme goal and we work vigorously to achieve this with relentless passion.
• We delight in constantly challenging each other to create waves of happy surprises for our customers worldwide.
• Our people are our greatest asset. Our hard working culture, spirit of close cooperation, determination, passion and leadership provide the fuel that drives the company.
• We firmly pledge to serve the people, the society and the environment, and are thankful for our meaningful existence.