Mead Johnson - History and Products

History and Products

Edward Mead Johnson had founded Johnson & Johnson in 1886 together with his brothers. In 1895, Johnson developed a side business called The American Ferment Company to create a digestive aid. In 1897, E. Mead Johnson left the family business to go out into business on his own in Jersey City, New Jersey, and in 1905, the company was re-established as Mead Johnson & Company. The firm's first major infant formula was developed in 1910, and Dextri-Maltose, a carbohydrate-based milk modifier was introduced in 1911, making it the first American product for infants to be clinically approved and recommended by doctors. The firm moved to Evansville, Indiana, in 1915, in the wake of World War I, as part of an effort to have easier access to the raw agricultural ingredients that were needed for its products, which required Johnson to build a series of new plants and factories to replace the ones he had left behind in New Jersey.

C. Joseph Genster was the group director for nutritional specialties, which launched the Metrecal protein-based liquid diet product for adults in September 1959. Originally the product came as a powder which was mixed with water and contained powdered skim milk, soybean flour and corn oil and was fortified with vitamins and minerals, a formula that included more protein than other diet products. The Metrecal diet plan had people consume four self-prepared shakes (or portion-controlled cans) of Metrecal a day, with each can providing 225 calories. The 900-calorie-a-day diet helped many lose weight and the product became a diet craze in the early 1960s in the U.S. By the mid-1970s the Metrecal fad had faded and a Food and Drug Administration call to remove liquid protein-based products from store shelves put an end to the phenomenon.

Lambert Mead succeeded his father as president following his death and served in the position until 1955, making him the longest-serving president in company history. D. Mead Johnson was the third generation of the family to serve as chief executive of the firm. During his tenure, which lasted from 1955 until the firm's takover by Bristol-Myers in 1968, the firm's annual sales tripled to $131 million and grew to nearly 4,400 employees.