Brandtree

Who owns Close-Up?

Close-Up is owned by Unilever (the United Kingdom, LSE: ULVR).[1]

Evidence: Unilever PLC Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2025, SEC EDGAR, 12 March 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .

Key facts

Current owner
Unilever PLC verified
Owner HQ
🇬🇧 United Kingdom, London
Origin
🇺🇸 United States
Founded
1967
Category
Personal care & beauty › Oral care › Toothpaste & toothbrushes
Parent ticker
LSE: ULVR NYSE: UL AEX: UNA
Last verified
· 1 sources

About Close-Up

Close-Up was introduced in 1967 as the first gel toothpaste, sold on fresh breath and appearance rather than on dental health, and marketed to young adults with romantic advertising that was unusual for the category. Unilever sells it mainly in Asia and Latin America today.

Ownership timeline of Close-Up

Owners of Close-Up over 1967 to 2026 Unilever start not recorded–present Unilever (start not recorded) 197019801990200020102020
  1. Current owner Unilever [1] verified

Where Close-Up sits in Unilever

Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.

Where Close-Up sits in Unilever Tree of 53 brands under Unilever. Unilever Close-Up Axe Bango Brut Cif Clear and 47 more

Open the full Unilever ownership tree →

See the full Unilever brand portfolio (53) →

Other brands owned by Unilever

Unilever controls 53 brands on Brandtree, 34 of them in personal care & beauty.

Also in personal care & beauty

Founded in the 1960s

All Unilever brands →

Other brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes, and who owns them

The 42 brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes on Brandtree belong to 23 owners. The largest is Colgate-Palmolive, with 5; Unilever has 4.

BrandOwnerOwner based in
Colgate Colgate-Palmolive 🇺🇸 United States
Desensin Dentaid 🇪🇸 Spain
Parodontax Haleon 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Pepsodent (United States) Church & Dwight 🇺🇸 United States
Bioniq Dr. Wolff Group 🇩🇪 Germany
CLINICA Lion 🇯🇵 Japan
Elgydium Pierre Fabre 🇫🇷 France
Crest Procter & Gamble 🇺🇸 United States

Every brand in toothpaste & toothbrushes and its owner →

About the owner: Unilever

Unilever is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1929. Brandtree records 53 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: ULVR, NYSE: UL and AEX: UNA.

Unilever is a British consumer goods company formed in 1929 by the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Brothers. It reports through four business groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Foods. Its ice cream business was demerged as The Magnum Ice Cream Company in December 2025.

Unilever: full profile, brands and acquisition history →

🇺🇸 Close-Up 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, Close-Up among them.

All American brands and who owns them →

Frequently asked questions

Who is the parent company of Close-Up?

The parent company of Close-Up is Unilever, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.

Is Close-Up American or British?

Close-Up originated in the United States in 1967, but it is owned today by Unilever, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Close-Up is an American-origin brand under British ownership.

Is Close-Up still owned by Unilever?

Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Close-Up is still owned by Unilever. 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. [1] Unilever PLC Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2025 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 20-F, published 12 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.

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