For years, The Top 50 has been like a duck, calm and unruffled on the surface and paddling like hell underneath. Procter & Gamble has been at the top of our list every year since we started ranking the biggest household and personal products companies back in 1978. And, for more than 40 years, right behind P&G came Colgate-Palmolive. By the time you reached No. 40, companies were shifting places and dropping out at a relatively fast clip.

But this year, for the first time ever, we have a new No. 2. Colgate-Palmolive has been replaced in the second slot by Estée Lauder Companies, which is thriving under the direction of Fabrizio Freda, the first non-family member to lead the company since its founding in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder. Lauder continues to grow despite the popularity of indie brands and the rise of celebrity makeup mavens such as Kylie Jenner and her sister, Kim Kardashian, both of whom made our list this year.

Behind P&G, Estée Lauder and Colgate, comes SC Johnson, Coty, Johnson & Johnson, Ecolab, L Brands, Mary Kay and Amway. Other newcomers to our list include Dr. Bronner’s and Glossier. But new or old, big or small, all of the companies that appear on the following pages face many of the same obstacles—new distribution channels, fickle consumers, economic uncertainty and global upheaval. The companies that best navigate these new realities are sure to be ranked within The Top 50 for years and decades to come (or can get acquired by the companies that overcome these obstacles). We hope you enjoy this edition of The Top 50. If you think your company belongs on our list, please don’t hesitate to contact us. And be sure to watch your mailbox and inbox next month for The International Top 30, our article on the biggest household and personal products companies with headquarters outside the US.

The Top 50

1. Procter & Gamble
Cincinnati, OH $41.3 billion

2. Estée Lauder
New York, NY $13.6 billion

3. Colgate-Palmolive
New York, NY $13.1 billion

4. SC Johnson
Racine, WI $10.3 billion

5. Coty
New York, NY $9.3 billion

6. Johnson & Johnson
New Brunswick, NJ $7.7 billion

7. Ecolab
St. Paul, MN $5.1 billion

8. L Brands
Columbus, OH $5.0 billion

9. Mary Kay
Addison, TX $3.6 billion

10. Amway
Ada, MI $2.9 billion

11. Church & Dwight
Ewing, NJ $2.9 billion

12. Clorox
Oakland, CA $2.7 billion

13. Diversey
Charlotte, NC $2.6 billion

14. Revlon
New York, NY $2.5 billion

15. Guthy-Renker
El Segundo, CA $1.7 billion

16. Nu Skin
Provo, UT $1.6 billion

17. Rodan + Fields
San Francisco, CA $1.5 billion

17. Young Living
Lehi, UT $1.5 billion

19. New Avon
New York, NY $800 million

20. Newell Brands
Hoboken, NJ $780 million

21. Melaleuca
Idaho Falls, ID $714 million

22. Zep
Atlanta, GA $706 million

23. Senegence
Foothill Ranch, CA $700 million

24. Inter Parfums
New York, NY $675 million

25. Markwins
City of Industry, CA $540 million

26. Neora
Addison, TX $500 million

27. Luminex
Cincinnati, OH $495 million

28. John Paul Mitchell Systems
Beverly Hills, CA $475 million

29. Scentsy
Meridian, ID $449 million

30. Edgewell
St. Louis, MO $440 million

31. Monat Global
Doral, FL $434 million

32. Kylie Cosmetics
Oxnard, CA  $420 million

33. WD-40
San Diego, CA $408 million

34. Combe
White Plains, NY $400 million

35. Jafra
Westlake Village, CA $380 million

36. Hain Celestial
Lake Success, NY $375 million

37. High Ridge
Stamford, CT $340 million

38. Gojo
Akron, OH $337 million

39. Tupperware
Orlando, FL $336 million

40. Beautycounter
Santa Monica, CA $325 million

41. The Honest Company
Los Angeles, CA $315 million

42. PDC
Stamford, CT $278 million

43. e.l.f. Beauty
Oakland, CA $267 million

44. Prestige Consumer Healthcare
Tarrytown, NY $240 million

45. Spartan 
Maumee, OH $190 million

46. Atlantic Coast Brands
Jersey City, NJ $170 million

47. Dr. Bronner’s
Vista, CA $122 million

48. Helen of Troy
El Paso, TX $110 million

49. KKW Beauty
Oxnard, CA $107 million

50. Glossier
New York, NY $102 million