The Top 50

When consumers, analysts, even reporters, consider the household and personal products industry, the first word that normally comes to mind is “steady.” After all, when times are good, everybody needs laundry detergent and when times are bad, well, everybody needs laundry detergent. Sure, new product launches may, in turn, launch a thousand “me-toos” or, perhaps, an entrepreneur makes a splash with an innovative startup, but, by and large, the business lacks the drama and excitement of say, the computer industry, where the prospects for the sixth incarnation of an iPhone still garners a front-page position in the business section.

But a couple of members in Happi’s Top 50 did capture headlines, for all the wrong reasons, this year. First, there’s that ongoing battle between Herbalife and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, the latter shorted the former and is doing his best to drag the company through the muck and mire of the old “is it a pyramid, or is it not,” debate. It’s the same Ackman who called for, and received, the head of former P&G CEO Bob McDonald.

In this fight, for the first several months, it appeared as if Ackman had bet on the wrong horse, as Herbalife’s stock soared and Ackman lost a bundle. But he turned up the heat, lobbied in Washington, and insisted he would go “to the end of the Earth” to defeat the company. Ackman got a big break in March with news that the Federal Trade Commission was investigating Herbalife, sending the company’s stock below $50. Herbalife has fought back, with good financials and a hefty stock buyback. All moves that should keep this 20-month battle top of mind and on top of the business news for months to come.

In contrast, when Nu Skin was forced to suspend operations in China, its biggest market, due to an unsavory article in the People’s Daily about—you guessed it—pyramid schemes, the company went to work, meeting with officials and getting its business in China, well, back in business. The negative press did little to blunt Nu Skin’s rise, and the company’s sales continue to soar on the strength of its AgeLOC technology. In fact, Nu Skin’s climbed to No. 16 in The Top 50, up from No. 19 last year. Proving, we suppose, that there’s no such thing as bad publicity!

We hope you enjoy reading The Top 50, which is now in its 37th year. In all that time, Procter & Gamble has been No. 1 on the list and this year’s edition is no exception. Colgate-Palmolive is the “Avis” on our list, always in the second spot, even as its sales and market value grows. Rounding out the top 10 companies are Estée Lauder, SC Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Avon, Ecolab, Amway, Coty and L Brands, the company formerly known as Limited Brands.