Huggies

Huggies is an American brand that sells disposable diapers and baby wipes that is marketed by American company Kimberly-Clark. Huggies were first test marketed in 1968, then introduced to the public in 1977 to replace the Kimbies brand.

==History== Kimberly-Clark started delving into the diaper market in 1966. They introduced the Kimbies brand of diapers in 1968. Kimberly-Clark scientist Frederick J. Hrubecky designed the initial diaper and was granted a patent in 1973. Hrubecky experimented with diaper technology that included body contouring which would adapt better than standard fit diapers. Kimberly-Clark installed $1 million of fold production equipment, including the first experimental folding machine in a mill in Memphis, Tennessee. Hrubecky incorporated diaper adhesive tapes that replaced safety pins after consumer tests in Denver and Salt Lake City proved they were one of the best features. Kimbies production suffered in the early 1970s after a strike occurred at the Memphis plant. In 1974, the adhesives were switched from plastisol to latex due to increased costs. This led to negative feedback due to latex being less durable. Engineers in the Memphis, Beech Island, South Carolina, and New Milford, Connecticut mills devised a wide variety of tissue machine designs that would eventually incorporate layers of absorbent padding of varying thickness. As it was designed to fit snugly, the name Kleenex Huggies was chosen and the redesigned diaper was introduced in December 1977.