Who owns Dettol?
Dettol is owned by Reckitt (the United Kingdom, LSE: RKT).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Reckitt Benckiser Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2025, 5 March 2026 (archived copy). Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Reckitt Benckiser Group plc reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Slough
- Origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1932
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Bath, soap & hand care › Hand soap & sanitiser
- Parent ticker
- LSE: RKT
- Trademark registrant
- Reckitt & Colman (Overseas) Health Limited (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Dettol
Dettol antiseptic was introduced in 1932 for use in maternity wards, where puerperal fever was still a common cause of death, and moved into households from there. Its chloroxylenol formulation turns milky when diluted, a visual cue the advertising has used for decades. It is sold widely across Britain, Asia and Africa.
Trademark record for Dettol
The USPTO record for the Dettol mark lists Reckitt & Colman (Overseas) Health Limited as the owner of record (serial number 98370750). That name matches the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Dettol
Where Dettol sits in Reckitt
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Reckitt ownership tree →
See the full Reckitt brand portfolio (20) →
Other brands owned by Reckitt
Reckitt controls 20 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in personal care & beauty.
Also in personal care & beauty
Founded in the 1930s
- Calgon (1933)
Other brands in hand soap & sanitiser, and who owns them
The 14 brands in hand soap & sanitiser on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Ego Pharmaceuticals, with 1.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Savlon | ACI Limited | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
| Softsoap | Colgate-Palmolive | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Wet Ones | Edgewell | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Aqium | Ego Pharmaceuticals | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| Dermofarm | Farmec | 🇷🇴 Romania |
| Avé | Golrang Industrial Group | 🇮🇷 Iran |
| Sterillium | HARTMANN | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Savlon | ITC | 🇮🇳 India |
About the owner: Reckitt
Reckitt is a publicly listed company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom, founded in 1999. Brandtree records 20 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: RKT.
Reckitt was formed in 1999 by the merger of Britain's Reckitt & Colman with the Dutch-German Benckiser. It concentrates on hygiene, health and nutrition, and has been shrinking its portfolio since a difficult acquisition of infant formula maker Mead Johnson in 2017.
🇬🇧 Dettol and other British brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Dettol is not one of them.
- Andrex — Kimberly-Clark 🇺🇸
- Batiste — Church & Dwight 🇺🇸
- Charlotte Tilbury — Puig 🇪🇸
- Childs Farm — PZ Cussons 🇬🇧
- Creed — L'Oréal 🇫🇷
- Cushelle — Essity 🇸🇪
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Dettol?
The parent company of Dettol is Reckitt, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Dettol British?
Yes. Dettol originated in the United Kingdom in 1932 and its owner, Reckitt, is also headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Dettol still owned by Reckitt?
Yes. As of 27 September 2026, Dettol is still owned by Reckitt. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & 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] Reckitt Benckiser Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2025 — Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, Annual report, published 5 March 2026; retrieved 23 October 2026. The original address no longer opens it, so the link goes to an archived copy (original address).
- [2] USPTO: DETTOL, serial 98370750 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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