subsidiary founded dover foxcroft maine u.s. 1984 1984 1 founders burt shavitz roxanne quimby 2 headquarters durham north carolina 3 u.s. area served us uk ireland canada australia germany hong kong taiwan 2 key people craig stevenson vice president general manager 4 products natural personal care products revenue us 250 million 2006 2 number of employees 420 2005 5 parent clorox 2 website burtsbees.com burt s bees is an american personal care products subsidiary of clorox that describes itself as an earth friendly natural personal care company 6 making products for personal care health beauty and personal hygiene . as of 2007 they manufactured over 197 products for facial and body skin care lip care hair care baby care men s grooming and outdoor remedies . 2 since then their products have been distributed in nearly 30 000 retail outlets including grocery stores and drug store chains across the united states united kingdom ireland canada australia germany hong kong and taiwan from their headquarters in durham north carolina . 2 7 burt s bees manufactures their products with natural ingredients 8 using minimal processing such as distillation condensation extraction steamed distillation pressure cooking and hydrolysis to maintain the purity of those ingredients . 9 in addition every product has a natural bar which gives a percentage of natural ingredients in that product often with detailed ingredient descriptions . 10 originating in maine in the 1980s the business began when co founder roxanne quimby started making candles from burt shavitz s leftover beeswax . 11 this eventually led to their bottling and selling of honey a practice that slowly diminished as the company evolved as a corporation . eventually other products using honey and beeswax including edible spreads and furniture polish were sold before moving into the personal care line . citation needed in late 2007 clorox purchased burt s bees for 925 million usd . 12 contents 1 history 1.1 1984 89 founding 1.2 1990s incorporation and diversification 1.3 2000 06 new products and aea 1.4 2007 present clorox acquisition 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit 1984 89 founding edit burt s bees hand salve sep 2012 burt s bees originated in maine in 1984 as a candle making partnership between roxanne quimby and burt shavitz . shavitz had a honey business which provided the excess beeswax needed for the candles and quimby s focus on maintaining high quality helped to grow their business from an initial 200 at the dover foxcroft junior high school craft fair to 20 000 by the end of their first year . their first headquarters was an abandoned one room schoolhouse rented from a friend for 150 a year . 13 burt s bees increased production in 1989 after a new york boutique zona ordered hundreds of their beeswax candles . forty additional employees were hired and an abandoned bowling alley became their new manufacturing location . during this time quimby read one of burt shavitz s 19th century books about bee keeping which included home made personal care recipes and burt s bees entered into the personal care products industry . 13 1990s incorporation and diversification edit burt s bees became incorporated in 1991 and had a product offering including candles natural soaps perfumes and eventually lip balm which became their best selling product . 2 in 1993 quimby threatened to sue shavitz over personal issues and essentially forced shavitz out of the company s operations . citation needed increasing demand and product offerings necessitated a move from maine headquarters to north carolina where other personal care product manufacturers were also situated . burt s bees changed its focus to exclusively personal care products . 2 in 1995 the company moved its manufacturing operations into an 18 000 square foot 1 700 m2 former garment factory in creedmoor north carolina . although burt s bees continued to focus on the home made product theme automated machines such as a former cafeteria mixer from duke university were introduced to increase production . chapel hill was the site of the first burt s bees retail store which offered 50 natural personal care products . distribution and demand of products had also reached the japanese market . 2 in 1998 burt s bees was offering over 100 natural personal care products in 4 000 locations with sales in excess of 8 million . distribution had reached national retailers such as whole foods market and restaurants like cracker barrel . new product offerings branched into travel sized skin care and hair care products . 2 in 1999 with increasing demand and an increase product offerings including sugar and milk based body lotions and bath products burt s bees relocated to durham among the many other enterprises located in the research triangle area of north carolina . an ecommerce website was launched allowing distribution in a much larger nationwide scale . 2 in 1999 quimby bought out shavitz s one third stake in the company in exchange for a house in maine worth approximately 130 000 . 14 2000 06 new products and aea edit burt s bees products sep 2012 see also aea investors in 2002 and 2003 burt s bees launched its first toothpaste first shampoo and successful baby bee product line of infant personal care products . the co founder roxanne quimby also used company earned profits to preserve 185 000 acres 750 km2 of forest land in maine marking the beginning of a relationship with the nature conservancy an international organization engaged in environmental protection and conservation . 2 in 2004 private equity firm aea investors purchased 80 % of burt s bees for 173 000 000 us with co founder roxanne quimby retaining a 20 % share and a seat on the board . 15 upon seeking compensation from quimby after the deal shavitz was paid 4 million . 14 in 2005 douglas haensel a former ge executive became executive vice president and chief financial officer . michael indursky a former garnier and unilever executive joined burt s bees in july to head burt s bees marketing and public relations group . 16 in 2006 john replogle a former general manager of unilever s skin care division became the chief executive officer and president effective from january 19 2006 . 17 2007 present clorox acquisition edit see also clorox company as of 2007 they manufactured over 197 products for facial and body skin care lip care hair care baby care men s grooming and outdoor remedies 2 distributed in nearly 30 000 retail outlets including grocery stores and drug store chains across the united states united kingdom ireland canada australia hong kong and taiwan from their headquarters in durham north carolina . 2 in late 2007 the clorox company acquired burt s bees for a reported sum of 925 000 000 usd . 12 the company subsequently released a statement to their customers . 18 replogle left burt s bees to become ceo and president of seventh generation inc. in february 2011 . 19 in 2011 nick vlahos a 15 year veteran of the clorox company was named vice president and general manager of burt s bees effective april 2011 . 20 in 2013 vlahos was promoted to senior vice president and chief customer officer and craig stevenson was named as the vice president and general manager of burt s bees . stevenson a 19 year veteran at clorox was previously the head of clorox s professional products division . 21 by february 2014 the clorox company had increased advertising and sales promotion spending for burt s bees particularly for its lip care lines . at the time burt s bees sales were outpacing volume due to price increases . 22 in august 2014 a documentary detailing the story between the two co founders was released . 23 co founder shavitz died in july 2015 at the age of 80 and was buried in bangor maine . in his final years he had lived on a 37 acre plot of land in parkman maine . 24 see also edit list of american companies references edit burt s bees . retrieved 2007 09 20 . a b c d e f g h i j k l m n our history burt s bees . retrieved 2007 09 20 . company faqs burt s bees . retrieved 2007 09 20 . burt s bees names new top executive . february 5 2013 . retrieved march 28 2016 . jones amanda 2005 02 10 . burt s bees leases more space plans to add 50 jobs . triangle business journal . american city business journals inc. retrieved 2007 09 20 . our mission and vision burt s bees . retrieved 2007 09 21 . our products . retrieved 2007 09 20 . natural ingredients vs. non natural ingredients . retrieved 2007 09 21 . natural processes vs. non natural processes . retrieved 2007 09 21 . setting the natural standard burt s bees . retrieved 2007 09 20 . our history . retrieved 2008 10 20 . a b farrell andrew . clorox to buy burt s bees from forbes website . october 21 2007 a b the burt s bees story . retrieved 2007 09 20 . a b story louise 6 january 2008 . can burt s bees turn clorox green . new york times . retrieved 13 march 2015 . singer natasha 2007 05 16 . it s not just honey . the new york times . retrieved 2007 09 20 . mike indursky chief marketing and strategic officer . retrieved 2007 09 20 . burt s bees names john replogle as ceo and president . retrieved 2007 09 21 . a letter to our loyal customers at the burt s bees official website archived 17 december 2007 at archive.org . archived december 17 2007 at the wayback machine . seventh generation names john replogle to serve as ceo and president . february 9 2011 . retrieved 31 may 2011 . clorox names vlahos as burt s bees boss . april 6 2011 . retrieved 31 may 2011 . burt s bees names new top executive . february 5 2013 . retrieved march 28 2016 . ohnesorge lauren february 4 2014 . clorox still banking on burt s bees . bizjournal . retrieved 2015 01 18 . feloni richard august 29 2014 . a new documentary reveals the crazy drama between the founders of burt s bees . business insider . retrieved 2015 01 18 . burt shavitz from burt s bees buried in bangor . the associated press . july 14 2015 . retrieved 2015 07 14 . external links edit official burt s bees website wikimedia commons has media related to burt s bees . v t e clorox products and subsidiaries brita burt s bees formula 409 kc masterpiece kingsford charcoal kitchen bouquet lestoil liquid plumr pine sol s.o.s soap pad the glad products company category commons v t e cosmetics face anti aging cream bb cream botulinum toxin botox concealer cleanser facial facial toning foundation moisturizer permanent makeup primer powder rouge skin whitening toner veil venetian ceruse lips gloss liner lipstick plumper stain eyes blepharoplasty circle contact lens eyelash extensions eyelid glue eye liner eye shadow kohl mascara hair conditioner hair coloring and bleaching removal chemical electric laser ipl plucking shaving threading waxing shampoo styling styling products gel mousse pomade spray wax nails artificial nails buffing manicure nail polish pedicure body body powder cold cream cosmetic surgery peeling skin whitening traditional 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