This year, VJ Salomone Marketing and the global consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) are celebrating 75 years of association. This business relationship owes its origin to 1931 following P&G’s acquisition of Thomas Hedley & Sons, a small British soap firm, manufacturer of the Fairy brand. V.J. Salomone was the Fairy Soap local agent. This was the start of a successful business relationship with a company that would eventually become one of the larger distribution companies on the island.

Procter & Gamble was established in 1837, in Cincinnati as a candle and a soap maker company. Within the last 169 years, the company grew to a leading consumer goods company with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands that improve the lives of the world’s consumers.

P&G is committed to improve lives in communities around the world. Its corporate cause – Live, Learn and Thrive – focuses on the development of children in need. The aim of P&G’s Live, Learn and Thrive is to help children in need around the world live by ensuring they have a healthy start; to provide them with places, tools and programs that enhance their ability to learn; and to help them develop skills for life so they can thrive.

To mark the celebration of 75 years of association with P&G, V.J. Salomone Marketing is also stepping in to help underprivileged children in Ethiopia. The companies are launching a programme called “Helping a child to learn, live and thrive is like saving the world”. This programme aims to generate funds which will be used to improve access to safe water and basic sanitation for children in Ethiopia. In this country, water-related diseases and poor sanitation are among the top causes of death and child mortality is one of the highest worldwide. 25c to 50c from sales of P&G brands participating in the project will be donated in support of Unicef’s water, sanitation and hygiene project in Ethiopia, in the Gambella region to help to improve access to such basic needs as safe water, hygiene and sanitation for children and women.

Managing director of VJ Salomone Marketing, Victor Galea, himself a three-generation family member of the organisation, said: “We owe our success to our customers- retailers and consumers – who have been with us throughout these many years. We would like to give something back to society that has given us so much and to those who are less privileged. All of us are aware of the catastrophic situation in developing countries, including African ones, and of the calls of the United Nations’ agencies to increase support to these countries. To this end, we would like to raise funds in support of the cause to improve the lives of children in Ethiopia and to generate funds from the sale of chosen P&G brands. Everyone can help us contribute to this important cause. The brands participating in the campaign are listed on postcards which will be available in all retail outlets. Depending on the product purchased, we will be donating 25c to 50c to Unicef. We know the Maltese are very generous and once more we would like to give evidence to this. For this reason we now appeal to all of you to help us in this worthy cause”.

Director development & export markets, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Greg Forbes, commented: “It is a great pleasure to celebrate 75 years of P&G in Malta and 75 years with V.J.Salomone.

This is one of the longest distributor relationships we have in P&G globally and one we hope to see develop further over the next 75years! From the first P&G brand sold in the 1930s, Fairy household soap, to today’s brands such as Ariel, Pampers, Always, Vicks and Head&Shoulders, we have together marketed brands that in their own small way have improved the lives of Maltese consumers. I am also delighted to partner with V.J Salomone, our retail partners here in Malta, and with the Maltese people to launch our joint activity with Unicef, to provide safe and clean water, access to hygiene and sanitation for children. Every year, almost 1.6 million children under age of five die from a lack of clean water in the developing world. If this effort can make a small contribution to save even one life it will be worthwhile.”