Cleansing milk for babies: do you know where the name "Mustela" comes from?

PODCAST

In the 1950s, in France, a brand new product came onto the market, a lotion that cleans and softens babies' buttocks and thus saves time for many parents.

Until then, they had to be patient and use water, soap, then sweet almond oil and talcum powder to take care of their child's skin.

This product is Mustela, a cleansing milk for babies whose characteristic odor many remember.

But where does the name of this lotion come from?

In "Marques de Famille", the podcast of Europe 1 Studio in partnership with Harmonie Mutuelle, Jean-Paul Berthomé, now at the head of the family business, tells the story of his father, Paul Berthomé, co- founder of the Expanscience laboratories and who created the Mustela brand.

A story that begins with a little etymology ... "My father found that there was such a whiteness in this product, that he immediately thought of ermine", this little animal that wears a white coat.

"He took a dictionary of Latin and he noted that the ermine belonged to the Mustelidae family."

This is the idea, the starting point, Mustela was born!

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Over the years, consumers have adopted this brand.

Better still, the product becomes "the smell of babies", the one that you immediately recognize when you smell it, the one that will move from generation to generation.

As for the composition of this cream, whiter than white, it remains a secret for years before the leaders change their strategy.

To respond to consumers worried about being confronted with possible chemicals in the cleansing milk of their babies, they have bet on transparency.

Mustela has also set up an organic range.

A touch of green in the initial whiteness.