Johnson Products Company

Johnson Products Company (JPC) is a privately held American business based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for manufacturing a line of hair care and cosmetic products for African American consumers under the names Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen. The company was a longtime sponsor of the syndicated US television dance show Soul Train until that program's cancellation.

History

In 1954, salesman George E. Johnson, Sr., his wife Joan Johnson, and a barber who later left the company formed what would become Johnson Products with a $250 loan.[1][2] The company produced Ultra Wave, a hair relaxer aimed at men that George developed while at Fuller Products, an African American cosmetics company.[1][3] The product was sold in Chicago, Harlem and other African American neighborhoods of New York City to barbers.[3]

Joan repositioned the product in 1957 as Ultra Sheen and marketed it to women.[1][4] The product was aimed at African American women who straightened their hair to eliminate the need to use a hot comb, grease, and frequent trips to the beauty shop.[1][3] By the 1960s had an estimated 80 percent of the black hair-care market and annual sales of $12.6 million by 1970.[1] In 1971, JPC went public and was the first African American owned company to trade on the American Stock Exchange.[1][5]

The company's most well-known product was Afro Sheen for natural hair when afros became popular.[2][4] Marketing for the product featured slogans that encouraged racial pride, as embodied by the "Black is beautiful" movement.[6] These slogans included "Natural Hair hangs out. Beautiful!" and "soul food for the natural."[7] In 1971, JPC began sponsoring Soul Train. The sponsorship helped the program grow from a local show to a nationally syndicated cultural icon, making JPC the first African American company to sponsor a national television program.[3][8] In 1976, annual sales had grown to $40 million and had 500 employees in Chicago and a factory in Nigeria.[9]

In 1989, George and Joan divorced and a part of the divorce settlement, Joan became chairman and principal shareholder while their son Eric G. Johnson, was named chief executive.[10] In 1992, Eric resigned from the company, which was reportedly due to poor relations with Joan.[11][12] Ivax Corp purchased the company in 1993 and merged it with its line of skin care and cosmetic products for black women, Flori Roberts.[4] The sale ended its control by African American investors.[12]

The company was bought by Procter & Gamble in 2004 and its products were marketed as part of the P&G portfolio. In March 2009, a consortium of African-American investment firms bought the company from P&G to reestablish its position as an African-American-owned company.

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