History

Founded as a fragrance company in London over forty years ago, Gilchrist & Soames has long been one of the most respected bath and body brands in the world. With a long history servicing the luxury hotel market with personal care amenities, in 2015 Gilchrist & Soames was acquired by Guest Supply, the world’s leading hospitality operating supply distributor and personal care manufacturer. Soon after, all global manufacturing was brought together under a single leadership team with consistent quality standards, processes and company name. Here’s a look back at some of the major milestones that led to the Gilchrist & Soames of today.

1975: Gilchrist & Soames was founded as a fragrance company in London, England, soon followed by the introduction of bath products for country house hotels in the UK.

1979: Guest Supply was founded in New Jersey, USA with the idea that business travelers would appreciate shampoo as a hotel amenity.

1980: Marriott was Guest Supply’s founding partner – the first hotel chain to offer bath amenities for their guests.

1989: Gilchrist & Soames expands into North America.

1990: Guest Supply begins to forge partnerships with both global Fortune 100 companies and regional niche brands to produce and sell their brands into hotels and serve as a contract manufacturing partner for them.

2015: Guest Supply acquires Gilchrist & Soames and merges complimentary manufacturing and sales capabilities to further extend their mutual offerings for customers.

Today: We pride ourselves on being one of the best and biggest personal care producers in the the world, with annual volume increasing more than seven times over the past 25 years, from 140 million units per year to over 1 billion units manufactured globally each year.