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mORGAN'S POMADE HISTORY

IN THE BEGINNING

It all started out in the kitchen of the family home. Manufacturing, labelling, packaging and distribution were all done by hand. The first product formulated and produced was a shampoo known as the ‘Marie Antoinette Eucalyptus Egg Julep Shampoo’ and this was followed a year or two later by Morgan’s Pomade.

At first there was little time available to devote to sales, but as the products sold, the good news travelled fast. Fashion and style conscious men began to try Morgan’s and quickly discovered how effective it was.

robert_martin- creator of Morgan's Pomade
Morgan's pomade first ad history

The first stockists of the Pomade were the fashionable gentlemen’s hairdressers in London’s West End, the popularity soon grew and the distribution of this new ‘must have’ product expanded.

Manufacturing moved out of the kitchen of the family home and to a small factory in Highgate, although the production was still a one man operation the move was encouraging. By the early years of the new century Morgan’s Pomade had become a well-known brand. Word had even spread across the channel and Morgan’s was being supplied to exclusive hairdressers in Paris and other European capitals.

FIRST WORLD WAR

Not all was smooth sailing and as the First World War started it became increasingly difficult to source raw materials needed for the production of Morgan’s Pomade. Eventually the production could not keep up with the sales. During this time Robert Martin died and left his wife Jane Dinah in control of the business.

Although Morgan’s had hit some hard times, we were not defeated. Courtesy of the British Army, Morgan’s had arrived in the sub-continent, and with this India became our largest export market. During this time we also crossed the Atlantic Ocean and broke into America, this was the ‘Classic age of Hollywood’. The suave and immaculately groomed look was big at the time; this was perfect for Morgan’s as this is the style that our company had worked to perfect over the years.

It was now a climate where men who followed fashion reached for Morgan’s each and every day! In fact our Pomade was widely used by many of the big names in entertainment.

Morgan's trade_mark
Morgan's first poster design in 1935.

AROUND THE WORLD

By this time we had traveled very far from the family kitchen and for the second time we were in need of larger premises. In 1935 a new factory was purchased in Hornsey Rise. The methods that had been used were largely unchanged, blending; mixing, labeling and packaging were still done by hand but on a much larger scale.

With the second outbreak of war there were once again setbacks. Raw materials were again hard to obtain and shipping to distant markets were both difficult and hazardous. Despite all of these difficult times Morgan’s was unwilling to give up.

The post war years were a period of extremely strong export growth with West Africa and Nigeria in particular becoming a very strong market. With this growing trade, once more larger premises were needed. A site was found at Whitstable in Kent, and here a new purpose built factory was constructed. Enough land was purchased to allow for further additions.

Modern manufacturing machinery was installed and production capacity increased accordingly.

Morgan's advertisement for restoring grey hair.
Modern Morgan poster ad.

MODERN TIMES

Today, Morgan’s Pomade is distributed to over 50 export markets worldwide and has recently celebrated the sale of one billion jars of pomade. The modern man has become increasingly concerned with appearance and style, this has boosted
our sales and Morgan’s Pomade is still going strong.

Men all over the world reach for Morgan’s to achieve that classic sleek and suave look that never goes out fashion. Despite the changing nature of men’s hair fashions, throughout our history, Morgan’s Pomade has maintained its long established appeal to men who wish to look their best.

From the 1970’s onwards Morgan’s extended their range and formulated shampoo and hair styling products. Private Label was also introduced with barbers and hairdressers having their own bespoke products. In recent years, Morgan’s women’s face and hand creams became very popular. Morgan’s now produces professional hair care and the Men’s Retro barber range which is used by top hairdressers and barbers across the globe. We pride ourselves on high quality products using the best
expertly sourced raw ingredients and the latest technologies.

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