The J.R. Watkins Company began in a back room of a small house in Plainview, Minnesota, in 1868. Through direct selling and innovative ideas like placing "Trial Marks" on bottles and offering money-back guarantees, Watkins grew from a one-man company into the world's largest direct selling company, an international corporation spanning North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and England. Today, the company is still in business selling the liniment that founder J.R. Watkins first bottled in 1868. With the help of nearly 40,000 sales associates worldwide, the Watkins name and its quality products are instantly recognizable to customers across the globe.