By Springville Journal Staff
ORCHAR PARK— There is a fair chance that you might have spread Mentholatum vaporizing rub over your chest, to fend off a bad cough. Maybe you or a female companion recently purchased a Softlips cube for extra lip protection during the dry cold weather, perhaps you swear by Rohto eye-drops for red and irritated eyes.
But did you know that the company responsible for these and many other household-name skin care products is based right in Orchard Park?
The Mentholatum Company, which operates its North American headquarters on Sterling Drive off Milestrip Road, is today one of the top manufacturers of skin care products in the world. The company, along with its parent company, Japan-based Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., also manufacture Oxy acne medication, WellPatch, Natural Ice lip balm and Hada Labo Tokyo skin care products, among others.
Jean Legros, Mentholatum’s senior director of marketing, notes that while the company has a strong presence in national retailers and consumers’ minds, they are still dwarfed by some of their competitors, particularly Procter & Gamble Co., which manufactures the iconic vaporub, Vicks.
“Mentholatum competes with giants. It’s like David and Goliath,” said Legros, adding that Mentholatum also competes against the Fortune 500 corporation Johnson & Johnson.
However, the company has staked out a position in both the American and international markets through what Legros calls unique, top-quality skin care products. He says the company is in a strong position for growth; their goal is to double their revenue in the next five years.
With that goal in mind, Mentholatum launched two new, innovative products in the last year. The first, the Softlips Cube, promises effective, soothing lip care, and comes in a sleek, trendy design, aimed particularly for the female market. The other is a nighttime variant of its original vapor rub, with “naturally soothing lavender” to provide gentler cough relief.
“We generally pride ourselves in the passion and the quality of our people to help us develop, produce and market all out of here in Orchard Park,” Legros said. “You talk about Buffalo [as] an All-America City; I like to think that Mentholatum is one of these All-American brands.
The Mentholatum Company was founded in 1889, by Albert Alexander Hyde, an early purveyor of the medicinal and topical benefits of menthol. Developing the vapor rub recipe, which the company still uses today, he founded a partnership called The Yucca Company in Wichita, Kan.
The Mentholatum Company’s former factory, on Niagara Street, in Buffalo. The company operated out of this location from 1919 to 1997.
By 1906, the company changed its name to The Mentholatum Company, following the success of the original Mentholatum Ointment, and had opened an office in Buffalo. Several years later, in 1919, the company opened a factory on Niagara Street in Buffalo.
The company found early success by marketing heavily in East Asia; they began selling to Japan in 1913 and today manufacture several of the leading skin care products the region. In 1975, Rohto Pharmaceutical Company became Mentholatum’s licensee, and in 1988, Rohto purchased Mentholatum.
Legros says the two companies “realized [they] had synergies.”
Throughout the ’90s, Rohto and Mentholatum began to market a number of innovative new skin care products and opened new factories in the U.K., Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and elsewhere.
The company continued to expand its product line throughout the Aughts, and are now anticipating sales of $500 million in 2015.
Mentholatum moved to its current location at 707 Sterling Drive in 1997. There, they manufacture and package a number of their popular products; the location also serves as their North American headquarters.
And yet, despite manufacturing so many leading and trusted skin care products, Legros still feels as though Mentholatum’s presence goes unknown by most Buffalonians.
“Some people know about Mentholatum, but our presence and the knowledge of our presence has been a little bit subdued,” Legros said.
He pointed out that Mentholatum does much of its sampling locally, and donates to a number of local charities, including the Roycroft Campus Corporation, the Buffalo Zoo, the Food Bank of WNY and the Conners Children Center. The company also employs close to 200 residents, and they expect to create more jobs as they grow.
Legros says they appreciate the local support, and very much like their home in the Buffalo region.
“Buffalonians are very loyal to products that are made locally, and tend to make an effort to support local products,” Legros said. “As much as we support our local charities, we appreciate the support of Buffalonians.”