Who owns John Frieda?
John Frieda is owned by Kao (Japan, TSE: 4452), which has owned the brand since 1 November 2002.[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 Kingdom, London
- Founded
- 1988
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Hair care › Shampoo & conditioner
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 4452
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About John Frieda
John Frieda was founded by a London hairdresser in 1988 and built on products aimed at specific hair problems, notably Frizz Ease, launched in 1990. Kao acquired the business in 2002 for about $450 million. Frizz Ease was among the first mass products sold for a named hair concern rather than for a hair type.
Ownership timeline of John Frieda
Where John Frieda 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)
- Jergens (1882)
- Merries (1983)
- Molton Brown (1971)
Founded in the 1980s
- Attack (1987)
Other brands in shampoo & conditioner, and who owns them
The 56 brands in shampoo & conditioner on Brandtree belong to 31 owners. The largest is Unilever, with 7.
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.
🇬🇧 John Frieda 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, John Frieda among 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 John Frieda?
The parent company of John Frieda is Kao, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is John Frieda British or Japanese?
John Frieda originated in the United Kingdom in 1988, but it is owned today by Kao, which is headquartered in Japan. So John Frieda is a British-origin brand under Japanese ownership.
Since when has Kao owned John Frieda?
Kao has owned John Frieda since 1 November 2002.
Is John Frieda still owned by Kao?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, John Frieda 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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