Zoflora’s manufacturer Thornton and Ross was founded in 1922 by Nathan Thornton and his partner Philip Ross. Prior to the incorporation of the company, Nathan Thornton was Chemist and Works Manager at a Tar Distillery and Ammonia Works. This involved the production of coal tar by-products, including disinfectants and soaps. Mr Thornton’s theoretical knowledge and practical work enabled him to make a particular study of disinfectants and antiseptics and in the mid 1920s he was to be found at work in his small office-cum-laboratory in the Company’s original small premises in Milnsbridge, Huddersfield with a desktop full of samples of the oils extracted from flowers, which, combined, would produce perfumes suitable for use in producing Zoflora.
Zoflora was Nathan Thornton’s great creation. It was originally developed for commercial use as a fragrant disinfectant spray for use in cinemas, dance and concert halls. Mr Thornton had a large brass pressure sprayer which he took to these premises to demonstrate Zoflora’s beneficial effects. On such journeys he would also call on the occasional chemist’s shop with a sample of the “domestic user” Zoflora –a disinfectant to be sold only by Chemists. A small (2fl.oz.) bottle of Zoflora was packaged with a large (8fl.oz.) bottle from which diluted-for-use Zoflora could be sprayed around the home by the included ‘blow-across-the-top’ sprayer which sold for three shillings.
Zoflora has always been available in a variety of fragrances, although the fragrance selection has changed over time. The brand has always been available in a number of different sizes. It was originally sold for commercial rather than household use and was available in large drums. In the 1970s there were six bottle sizes (each in ten fragrances) from 2oz to 2 litres.
The success of Zoflora over the years has been due in no small part to the quality of the product itself. Zoflora has a much higher perfume concentration than is usual for household products. Most Zoflora is sold to retailers in an assorted pack which offers the consumer a choice in store which is very important. Household products in the main change their fragrance offerings on a regular, even annual, basis. Zoflora is different and offers that choice on a more consistent basis so that our customers come back time and again. In fact, Zoflora enjoys one of the highest loyalty ratings in the sector as well as being No. 1 in the disinfectant market.
In recent years the company has invested in a multi-million pound manufacturing and packing facility for Zoflora in order to cope with increasing demand.
