19th century The original Bon Ami formula was developed in 1886 by the J. T. Robertson Soap Company as a gentler alternative to quartz-based scouring powders available in stores. In those days, scouring powder was made from tallow and finely ground
quartz. When quartz was mined, it was entwined with
feldspar, and the two had to be separated by hand. The feldspar was discarded until Robertson discovered that this soft mineral could be combined with soap to create a less-abrasive product that would clean without scratching, resulting in the Bon Ami product. Bon Ami was originally manufactured in a factory in
Glastonbury, Connecticut, which later moved to
Manchester in the 1880s. As of 1896, Bon Ami was a common product in northeastern United States households. The slogan "hasn't scratched yet!" is an early American
trademark.
20th century In the early 1900s, Alfred William Erickson, founder of
McCann, revived the brand with full-color pages in leading women's magazines. He accepted Bon Ami as a client . Artist
Ben Austrian painted the prints, Bon Ami merged into Lestoil in 1964, after protracted negotiations. In 1971, Bon Ami was purchased by the
Faultless Starch Company, which later changed the corporation name to
Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company to help reintroduce Bon Ami to the market. In 1980, the company again revived its brand with a magazine campaign featuring the headline "never underestimate the cleaning power of a 94-year-old chick with a French name". Nevertheless, its business was still flagging by 1983, when it remained in third place behind products from
Procter & Gamble and
Colgate-Palmolive. ==Ingredients==