Consumer Research at Procter & Gamble: From Field Research to Agile Research

P&G was founded in 1837 when candle maker William Procter and his brother-in-law, a soap maker called James Gamble, combined their small businesses. They opened a shop in Cincinnati and nicknamed it “Porkopolis” due to its reliance on swine slaughterhouses. The shop manufactured candles and soaps from leftover fats. Over the next century and a half, the company grew to become one of the leading global consumer goods companies. As of 2018, P&G’s product portfolio was based on ten category-based Global Business Units (GBUs) – Baby Care, Fabric Care, Family Care, Feminine Care, Grooming, Hair Care, Home Care, Oral Care, Personal Health Care, and Skin and Personal Care. Across the ten categories, P&G had 21 brands registering yearly sales of US$1 billion to around US$10 billion and 11 brands registering sales of US$500 million to US$1 billion. For the year ended June 30, 2017, P&G had generated net sales of US$65.06 billion (Refer to Exhibit I for P&G’s financial performance from 2012 to 2017)..