Minnetonka launched Softsoap, widely recognized as the first commercially successful liquid hand soap, in 1980.
The Minnesota-based company introduced Softsoap in a plastic pump dispenser, combining a familiar personal-care product with a convenient package. Liquid soap had existed before, but Softsoap helped make pump-dispensed hand soap a common household purchase rather than a niche or commercial product.
Minnetonka reportedly bought a large supply of pump dispensers before launch, making it harder for competitors to copy the packaging immediately. The distinctive container and broad consumer marketing helped the product stand out on store shelves.
The Softsoap brand later changed ownership and became associated with larger personal-care companies. That later history can cause confusion about its origin, but the original launch was by Minnetonka in 1980. The product’s importance was not the invention of liquid cleansing itself, but the successful consumer adoption of liquid hand soap in a pump bottle.