Lawrence Weisberg

"Quality control is one of the primary concerns of retailers because you are putting their name on the package." -Larry Weisberg

Leader of National Brand Equivalents

Larry Weisberg is twice blessed. Some entrepreneurs feel fortunate when they achieve success with one company.

Larry has achieved success with two manufacturing companies– Iodent Toothpaste Company and Personal Care Products, Inc.–and two lines of businesses-branded consumer products and private label products.

“Larry has forgotten more than most of us know about building a private brand,” says Bill Bond, vice president, Willert Home Products, St. Louis, MO, in his nomination of Weisberg for induction into the 2007 Class of the PL Hall of Fame.

National Brand Roots

The Iodent Toothpaste Company, located in Detroit, MI, was started in 1917 by Weisberg’s forefathers.

“We were the first company to put an antiseptic in toothpaste. As result, Iodent was the first dentifrice to receive the ADA Seal of Approval from the American Dental Association,” points out Weisberg. The name Iodent was selected in reference to the early practice of dentists to use iodine to swab the mouths of their patients.

Weisberg joined the family business in 1950 after graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in business administration.

By the 1950s the Iodent Co. had diversified into other branded personal care product lines including baby shampoo, lotions, and powders as well as aerosol products.

Private Label Start

In the mid 1950s, Weisberg steered his family’s business into producing store brand personal care products for retailers.

“We approached Charlie Walgreen of Walgreen Drug Stores and other Midwest drug store operators and convinced them to test selling their own store brand toothpaste,” says Weisberg. “We knew we could make a store brand product for them that was a national brand equivalent since we were already making one for Iodent and we were serving as a contract manufacturer for other national brands.”
Due to the instant success of his private label line of toothpaste, Weisberg’s retail customers encouraged him to make private label versions of his company’s other branded products.

“It all turned out quite successful for us because up until then all that was on the market in terms of private label personal care products were of poor quality,” he notes. “On the other hand, we could produce NBE products.”

Starting Over

In addition to private label, Weisberg's company manufactures two corporate brand lines: Personal Care in beauty care products and PowerHouse in household products.

In 1982, Weisberg sold the Iodent Co. to a large European over-the-counter drug manufacturer that wanted to enter the U.S. market. Although the initial plan was to allow the U.S. managers under Weisberg’s guidance to continue to run the company, the relationship soon soured; and he left the company within the first year of new arrangement. Not experienced in the complexities of the U.S. private label business, the European owners exited the U.S. market in 1986.

That presented Weisberg with the opportunity to reacquire two of the four manufacturing facilities he had previously sold. They included a plant in Los Angeles and another in the south side of Chicago. These facilities formed the foundation for Weisberg’s new branded and private label consumer products manufacturing business, Personal Care Products, Inc. with in Bingham Farms, MI.

Weisberg approached Kmart as the first major customer for his new enterprise since he had strong ties with the discounter through his previous company.

Success with Kmart led to additional discount store clients especially in the dollar store segment including 99 Cents Stores, Dollar General and Family Dollar.

“These retailers were familiar with my previous company, so it was easy for them to make the transition and go into our Personal Care label and also private label with us. Today, I make the store brands for many of the dollar stores.”

Quality Assurance

For Weisberg, high quality control standards in product manufacturing is the key to success in the private label business.

“One of our strong hallmarks is quality control. When you are manufacturing store brand products for major retailers, quality control is one of their primary concerns because you are putting their name on the package.

“I know that you are honoring Dr. Herb Shuster for inclusion into this year’s PL Hall of Fame class. We were one of his first clients. We had him come to each one of our manufacturing facilities to audit the plants to make sure that we were in comlicance with federal and state standards.

“In the history of operating the Iodent Co. and in all of our manufacturing history, we have never had a major product recall.”