Arm & Hammer
Product type | Baking Soda products |
---|---|
Owner | Church & Dwight |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1867 |
Markets | World |
Website | armandhammer.com |
Arm & Hammer is a registered trademark of Church & Dwight, an American manufacturer of household products. The logo of this brand is a depiction of a muscular arm holding a hammer inside a red circle. Originally associated only with baking soda and washing soda, the company began to expand the brand to other products in the 1970s, using baking soda as a deodorizing ingredient, including toothpaste, laundry detergent, underarm deodorant, and cat litter. The Arm & Hammer brand is one of the longest-running and most recognized U.S. trademarks.
History
The Arm & Hammer logo dates back to the 1860s. James A. Church ran a spice business known as Vulcan Spice Mills. According to the company, the Arm and Hammer logo represents Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking.[1]
It is often claimed that the brand name originated with tycoon Armand Hammer; however, the Arm & Hammer brand was in use 31 years before Hammer was born. Hammer was so often asked about the Church & Dwight brand, however, that he attempted to buy the company. While unsuccessful, Hammer's Occidental Petroleum in 1986 acquired enough stock for him to join the Church & Dwight board of directors. Hammer remained one of the owners of Arm & Hammer until his death in 1990.[2]
Industrial-strength bicarbonate cleaning products are labeled under an Arm & Hammer subsidiary division ARMEX.