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{{short description|American deodorant brand}}
{{advert|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Brand
|logo=
|name=Mennen
|image=[[Image:Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder, 1898.jpg|200px]]
|caption=Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder, 1898 advertisement.
|type=
|currentowner=[[Colgate-Palmolive]]
|origin={{flagcountry|USA}}
|discontinued=
|related=
|markets= worldwide
|previousowners=1878 - Mennen Company<br />1992 - Colgate
|trademarkregistrations=
|website=
}}

'''Mennen''' is a brand owned in most parts of the world by the [[Colgate-Palmolive]] Company. Its most notable product, Mennen [[Speed Stick]], with its [[fougère]] [[perfume]] and green wide stick, was the US market leader among [[deodorant]]s and [[antiperspirant]]s for men for many years. It was also noted for its Lady Speed Stick deodorant and [[Teen Spirit (deodorant)|Teen Spirit]] deodorant, which was the leader in teenage girls' deodorants during the early 1990s.

In [[France]], the Mennen branding is owned by [[L'Oréal]] through its Mennen-LASCAD subsidiary, for a line of men's grooming products.<ref>[http://www.loreal.fr/_fr/_fr/outils/contact/consumer/form_mennen.aspx L'Oréal France: Mennen contact] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330180942/http://www.loreal.fr/_fr/_fr/outils/contact/consumer/form_mennen.aspx |date=2012-03-30 }}{{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>[http://www.beaute-test.com/mennen.php beaute-test.com: Les produits de la marque Mennen]{{in lang|fr}}</ref>

== History ==
The Mennen Company was founded in 1878 by [[Gerhard Heinrich Mennen]], an immigrant to America from [[Germany]]. His first product was a [[borate]]d [[talcum]]-based powder, an innovation at the time. The company was originally located in Newark, New Jersey, US, moving to [[Morristown, New Jersey]], in 1953, where it manufactured and sold [[Over-the-counter drug|over-the-counter]] [[pharmaceuticals]] and personal products such as the [[Skin Bracer]], [[Speed Stick]], and [[Baby Magic]] products. Lady Speed Stick was a foray into the women's market, and was a huge success due to its shape, which fit a woman's hand, and fragrances. Gerhard's grandson, [[G. Mennen Williams]], served as [[Governor of Michigan]] 1949–1961 and as [[Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs]] under Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] 1961–1966.<ref>{{cite web|last=Watts|first=Carl|title=G. Mennen Williams and the contest to decide U.S. policy towards Africa, 1961-1966|url=https://www.academia.edu/2019476|accessdate=29 July 2013}}</ref>

The company was led by several generations of the Mennen family before being sold to Colgate-Palmolive Company in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Colgate-Palmolive to acquire Mennen| work = UPI| accessdate = 2020-01-27| url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/13/Colgate-Palmolive-to-acquire-Mennen/9500697957200/}}</ref> Today none of the Mennen family is involved in the company or its current parent. The former headquarters and manufacturing plant in [[Morris Township, New Jersey]], was demolished in spring 2018 and replaced with housing developments and retail space.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lent|first=James|title=Colgate affordable housing to increase to 36 to 66 in Morris Township|date=24 September 2018 |url=https://www.newjerseyhills.com/colgate-affordable-housing-to-increase-to-36-to-66-in-morris-township/article_3bb3416c-11a8-59bd-a207-e4a862a171e2.html|accessdate=26 April 2021}}</ref> Next to it remains the [[Mennen Arena]], a multi-purpose sports facility often used for hockey and public ice skating.

At [[Harpers Ferry National Historical Park]], there is a giant advertisement painted on the rock face of [[Elk Ridge (Maryland)|Maryland Heights]].  While faded and indistinct today, it reads "Mennen's Borated Talcum Toilet Powder" and was painted between 1903 and 1906.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/hafe/faqs.htm Harpers Ferry National Historical Park FAQ]</ref>

== Today ==
Today, the name ''Mennen'' is being phased out in some regions and products in many countries and products such as Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick are becoming rebranded or (in each of those cases) regarded as their own separate brands.<ref>[https://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/brands/speed-stick Our Brands, Colgate-Palmolive], January 19, 2024</ref> In North America,  [[Skin Bracer]] and [[Afta]] are still available in 2024 and labeled as being "by Mennen", where the name is still well-known and holds positive connotations.

Neither the brand Mennen nor Skin Bracer are listed at the Colgate-Palmolive website as of January 2024;<ref>[https://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/brands Our Brands, Colgate-Palmolive] January 19, 2024</ref>  However, both products are still available - labeled as produced by Mennen - online (at such established vendors as Amazon and Walmart) as of that date.<ref>[https://www.google.com/search?q=skin+bracer&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1054US1054&oq=skin+brace&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#vhid=riEKI1LeJ0_QkM&vssid=l Google search for Mennen Skin Bracer], January 19, 2024</ref>

The [[Baby Magic]] line was sold to [[Playtex]], which has since sold the brand to [[Naterra]]; Colgate-Palmolive retained the Baby Magic branding (as ''Baby Magic Mennen'') for the Latin American market.<ref>[http://www.babymagicmennen.com/ Baby Magic Mennen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810051619/http://www.babymagicmennen.com/ |date=2011-08-10 }}{{in lang|es}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/brands Colgate-Palmolive]
* [https://www.mennenfrance.fr/ Mennen France] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Colgate-Palmolive}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Colgate-Palmolive brands]]
[[Category:L'Oréal]] <!-- Owner of Mennen branding in France -->
[[Category:Companies established in 1878]]