A brief history
Sudocrem - treating nappy rash for more than 70 years
The origins of Sudocrem go back to 1931, when Thomas Smith, a Professor of Pharmacy and Retail Pharmacist in Dublin, developed a special cream in the back of his shop.
It was an antiseptic healing cream for treating napkin rash, eczema, pressure sores, incontinence rash and a variety of minor skin lesions. It proved a success and Thomas Smith’s ever-changing fortunes in the 1950’s also gave rise to a change in name. Smith’s Cream became known as Sudocrem.
By the early 1960’s a new promotional strategy of sampling new mothers with the product turned Sudocrem into a steady seller in Ireland, but by 1970 further changes were made to improve the marketing and distribution of the product and this resulted in a doubling of sales over the next 4 years.
During the 1970’s Sudocrem was introduced into Northern Ireland, then North West England and eventually it was launched nationally in Great Britain in 1980. Over the next 20 years Sudocrem quickly established itself into the market leading baby cream in the UK and Ireland that it is today.
Sudocrem is now a highly recognised and trusted brand with new parents who want to prevent or treat nappy rash and it is also widely used for other skin conditions as well as care of the elderly. The ingredients of Sudocrem have changed very little over the intervening 70 years, signifying the successful development work completed by Thomas Smith all those years ago.