Hasbro hasn't made Play-Doh in the United States since 2004. However, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, the company could set up new manufacturing operations for that salty-smelling dough in the United States as soon as next year.
For the last twelve years, Play-Doh has been manufactured abroad, in places like Turkey and China. While the company still plans to import some Play-Doh into the U.S., the toy maker will primarily manufacture out of a new facility in East Longmeadow, MA. The operation could be up and running by the second half of 2018.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Hasbro's decision is not a response to President Trump's focus on increasing U.S. manufacturing operations. They say the decision is a result of increasing sales over the past five years.
Play-Doh was invented by Noah McVicker, and originally manufactured as a wallpaper cleaner by soap manufacturer Kutol Products for Kroger in the 1930s. The grocer wanted something that could clean coal residue off of wallpaper. It wasn't marketed as a product for kids until an educational convention in 1956.
The Doh's signature smell has also been in the news recently. According to Law 360, on February 14th, 2017, Hasbro filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to register Play-Doh's signature smell as a trademark for "toy modeling compounds." They describe it as "a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough."
This is IEN Now with David Mantey.
