Kilmer House

Have you ever wondered why JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder containers have been square or rectangular in shape since the product was first sold in 1894? Was it because the Company got a good deal on square tins from the local square tin manufacturer? No, that wasn't it. Was it because the distinctive shape helped consumers identify the product? Perhaps...but that wasn't the reason, either.

Like everything else about the product (including the scent), the reasons behind the square JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder tins were well thought-out both from the product side (holding the powder) and the consumer side (to be helpful to those using it).

JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder Tin, 1890s

As anyone who's ever taken care of a baby knows, you need two hands (or sometimes more!) to bathe a baby or change a diaper. You can''t walk away to get something, you have to be focused on the baby and you need to keep everything you need close by.So, the Company chose square and later rectangular tins (and, after 1963, plastic containers) of JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder because they didn't roll away when being used, so that parents could more easily use the product when taking care of their babies.

Vintage JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder Ad from 1921 Showing Rectangular Tin

Also, the Company had discovered that square or rectangular tins held more product.How do we know that? Because a druggist who visited Johnson & Johnson in 1917 and toured the Company''s labs and manufacturing facilities learned that and wrote about it:

"Incidentally I learned that Johnson & Johnson did not just happen to pack their Baby Powder in square tins. They adopted this form of container because it is most convenient, because it holds more than other forms of containers and because it will stay where placed and not roll around. They aimed to place a powder of quality in a can of utility, and they succeeded admirably." [THE RED CROSS MESSENGER, Vol. IX, May, 1917, p. 184]

And we can still find a trace of that 1894 tradition today. Even though today''s containers have a much more rounded shape, they still retain subtle sides that stop them from rolling.