Who owns Airheads?
Airheads is owned by Perfetti Van Melle (the Netherlands).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Our Brands — Overview, Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands, Amsterdam
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1985
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Candy & sugar confectionery
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Airheads
Airheads are taffy bars launched in the United States in 1985, sold in intense fruit flavours and an artificially coloured white mystery variant made from the leftover mix. Van Melle created the brand and it came to Perfetti Van Melle in the 2001 merger.
Ownership timeline of Airheads
- Current owner Perfetti Van Melle [1] reported
Where Airheads sits in Perfetti Van Melle
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Perfetti Van Melle ownership tree →
See the full Perfetti Van Melle brand portfolio (6) →
Other brands owned by Perfetti Van Melle
Perfetti Van Melle controls 6 brands on Brandtree, 6 of them in food.
Also in food
- Alpenliebe (1993)
- Chupa Chups (1958)
- Fruit-tella (1931)
- Mentos (1932)
- Smint (1994)
Other brands in candy & sugar confectionery, and who owns them
The 83 brands in candy & sugar confectionery on Brandtree belong to 36 owners. The largest is Cloetta, with 6; Perfetti Van Melle has 5.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlgrens bilar | Cloetta | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bottle Caps | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Charleston Chew | Tootsie Roll | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bon Bon Bum | Colombina | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Candy Kittens | Katjes International | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Goldbears | Haribo | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Háls | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
| Jolly Rancher | Hershey | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Perfetti Van Melle
Perfetti Van Melle is a family-owned company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 2001. Brandtree records 6 brands under its control.
Perfetti Van Melle was formed in 2001 when the Italian Perfetti family bought the Dutch confectioner Van Melle, whose roots go back to 1841. It is one of the largest confectionery companies in the world and remains privately held by the Perfetti family.
Perfetti Van Melle: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Airheads and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Airheads among them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Airheads?
The parent company of Airheads is Perfetti Van Melle, a family-owned company headquartered in the Netherlands.
Is Airheads American or Dutch?
Airheads originated in the United States in 1985, but it is owned today by Perfetti Van Melle, which is headquartered in the Netherlands. So Airheads is an American-origin brand under Dutch ownership.
Is Airheads still owned by Perfetti Van Melle?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Airheads is still owned by Perfetti Van Melle. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Our Brands — Overview — Perfetti Van Melle Group B.V., Official document; retrieved 28 September 2026.
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