Vim
scouring powder, one of the first products created by
William Lever, first appeared on the market in 1904, an offshoot of
Monkey Brand scouring soap. The name is thought to derive from the colloquial English word "
vim" which has the same meaning as the Latin
vis,
vim ("force", "vigour"). Vim was produced at
Port Sunlight near
Liverpool, England. The name Vim remained solely associated with the scouring powder until 1993, when a range of associated products were released. Vim was also the name of a detergent tablet manufactured by Lever Brothers, and sold in the United States during the 1960s. It was the sponsor of the sitcom on
CBS,
The Lucy Show, starring
Lucille Ball. Former owner
Unilever abandoned Vim in favour of rival product
Jif, although it was still sold in some other countries in Europe. In December 2004, it was sold to the group
Guaber, based in Italy. Vim is currently owned by Henkel Group after its acquisition of
Spotless Group in 2015, although it is still marketed by Unilever in Canada and
Sri Lanka, where it has a 90% market share. Vim is also sold as a
Unilever brand in South Africa and India. ==See also==