Taylor knew others would copy the soap-in-a-pump-bottle idea, so he shrewdly purchased 100 million small bottle hand-pumps from the only two U.S. manufacturers that made them, so that any competitors wouldn't be able to buy any for one year - enough time for him to establish the brand name. It worked; in six months, he sold $25 million worth of Softsoap. The package made it very easy to spot on store shelves when nearly all other soaps were in bar form.