Who owns Jergens?
Jergens is owned by Kao (Japan, TSE: 4452), which has owned the brand since 1988.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Kao Corporation Integrated Report 2025, 31 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Kao Corporation reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Tokyo
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Founded
- 1882
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Skin care › Body care & lotions
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 4452
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Jergens
Jergens is an American hand and body lotion brand founded in Cincinnati in 1882, whose cherry-almond scented lotion has been sold in essentially the same form for decades. Kao acquired the business in 1988. The purchase gave the Japanese company a substantial American consumer platform, which it later expanded with John Frieda and Curél.
Ownership timeline of Jergens
Where Jergens sits in Kao
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Kao ownership tree →
See the full Kao brand portfolio (7) →
Other brands owned by Kao
Kao controls 7 brands on Brandtree, 6 of them in personal care & beauty.
Also in personal care & beauty
- Bioré (1980)
- Curél (1999)
- John Frieda (1988)
- Merries (1983)
- Molton Brown (1971)
Other brands in body care & lotions, and who owns them
The 29 brands in body care & lotions on Brandtree belong to 22 owners. The largest is Emami, with 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| BoroPlus | Emami | 🇮🇳 India |
| Labello | Beiersdorf | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Pomada de la Campana | Genomma Lab | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| Aesop | L'Oréal | 🇫🇷 France |
| Maya | Square Toiletries | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
| St. Ives | Unilever | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Bepanthen | Bayer | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Borotalco | Bolton Group | 🇮🇹 Italy |
About the owner: Kao
Kao is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1887. Brandtree records 7 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 4452.
Kao Corporation was founded in Tokyo in 1887 to make a domestic facial soap of a quality then only imported, and its name comes from the Japanese word for face. It spans household products, personal care, cosmetics and chemicals, and is one of the largest consumer goods companies in Asia.
🇺🇸 Jergens 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, Jergens among them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Jergens?
The parent company of Jergens is Kao, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is Jergens American or Japanese?
Jergens originated in the United States in 1882, but it is owned today by Kao, which is headquartered in Japan. So Jergens is an American-origin brand under Japanese ownership.
Since when has Kao owned Jergens?
Kao has owned Jergens since 1988.
Is Jergens still owned by Kao?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Jergens is still owned by Kao. 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] Kao Corporation Integrated Report 2025 — Kao Corporation, Annual report, published 31 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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