Bic competes against Faber-Castell AG, Global Gillette, Newell Rubbermaid and Stabilo. The Bic pen, more correctly titled the Bic Cristal, is possibly the company's best known product.

BIC was founded in France by Marcel Bich with Edouard Buffard in 1945. The two bought a factory and set up a business making parts for mechanical pencils and fountain pens. In December 1950, Marcel Bich introduced his own ballpoint pen, and named it the BIC. The 'h' from Bich was dropped in order to avoid a potentially inappropriate English pronunciation of the name. Although the pens weren't entirely new (Bich obtained patent rights from Hungarian inventor, László Bíró), the process of manufacturing was. An inexpensive, and at the same time reliable, ballpoint pen was introduced to the world. In early September 2005, BIC announced that it has sold its 100 billionth disposable ballpoint pen, making it the world's best-selling pen.