Who owns Fresh Step?
Fresh Step is owned by Clorox (the United States, NYSE: CLX).[1]
Evidence: The Clorox Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-08-07, SEC EDGAR, 7 August 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- The Clorox Company verified
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Oakland, California
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1986
- Category
- Pet & animal care › Pet supplies & services › Pet supplies
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: CLX
- Trademark registrant
- The Clorox Pet Products Company (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Fresh Step
Fresh Step is a clumping cat litter with activated carbon for odour control, and it is one of the two largest litter brands in the United States. Cat litter is among Clorox's more profitable businesses. Clumping litter, which lets soiled material be removed without changing the whole tray, replaced plain clay through the 1990s and reshaped the category.
How often Clorox names Fresh Step in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named more often than it was three years earlier.
Trademark record for Fresh Step
The USPTO record for the Fresh Step mark lists The Clorox Pet Products Company as the owner of record (serial number 85698340). That name matches the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Fresh Step
Where Fresh Step sits in Clorox
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Clorox ownership tree →
See the full Clorox brand portfolio (12) →
Other brands owned by Clorox
Clorox controls 12 brands on Brandtree, 2 of them in pet & animal care.
Also in pet & animal care
- Scoop Away (1990)
Founded in the 1980s
- Burt's Bees (1984)
Other brands in pet supplies, and who owns them
The 28 brands in pet supplies on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Tractor Supply, with 3; Clorox has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Aqueon | Central Garden & Pet | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Frisco | Chewy | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Musti | Sonae | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
| 4health | Tractor Supply | 🇺🇸 United States |
| BarkBox | BARK | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Melo Pet & Garden | Grupo Melo | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| Cat's Pride | Oil-Dri | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Reddy | Petco | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Clorox
Clorox is a publicly listed company headquartered in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1913. Brandtree records 12 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: CLX.
Clorox began in 1913 producing liquid bleach in Oakland, California. Procter & Gamble bought it in 1957 but was forced to divest it in 1969 after an antitrust ruling, and it has been independent since.
🇺🇸 Fresh Step 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; Fresh Step is not one of them.
- 4health — Tractor Supply 🇺🇸
- Advantage — Elanco 🇺🇸
- American Journey — Chewy 🇺🇸
- Apoquel — Zoetis 🇺🇸
- Aqueon — Central Garden & Pet 🇺🇸
- Aureomycin — Phibro 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Fresh Step?
The parent company of Fresh Step is Clorox, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is Fresh Step American?
Yes. Fresh Step originated in the United States in 1986 and its owner, Clorox, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Fresh Step still owned by Clorox?
Yes. As of 3 October 2026, Fresh Step is still owned by Clorox. 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] The Clorox Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-08-07 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 7 August 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] USPTO: FRESH STEP, serial 85698340 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 3 October 2026.
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