Who owns Kiehl's?
Kiehl's is owned by L'Oréal (France, EPA: OR), which has owned the brand since 2000.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: L'Oréal Universal Registration Document 2025, L'Oréal S.A, 1 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- L'Oréal S.A. reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇫🇷 France, Clichy
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York
- Founded
- 1851
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Skin care › Facial skin care
- Parent ticker
- EPA: OR
- Trademark registrant
- L'OREAL USA S/D, INC. (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Kiehl's
Kiehl's began as a New York apothecary on the Lower East Side in 1851 and remained a single shop for well over a century, dispensing preparations from a laboratory behind the counter. L'Oréal acquired it in 2000 and expanded it worldwide while keeping the plain packaging and free-sample practice.
Trademark record for Kiehl's
The USPTO record for the Kiehl's mark lists L'OREAL USA S/D, INC. as the owner of record (serial number 73832326). A trademark is often held by a group company rather than the listed parent, so the registrant's name can differ from the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Kiehl's
Where Kiehl's sits in L'Oréal
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full L'Oréal ownership tree →
See the full L'Oréal brand portfolio (21) →
Other brands owned by L'Oréal
L'Oréal controls 21 brands on Brandtree, 21 of them in personal care & beauty.
Also in personal care & beauty
- Aesop (1987)
- CeraVe (2005)
- Creed (1760)
- Essie (1981)
- Garnier (1904)
- Kérastase (1964)
- L'Oréal Paris (1909)
- La Roche-Posay (1975)
- Lancôme (1935)
- Matrix (1980)
- Maybelline (1915)
- Mixa (1924)
- NYX Professional Makeup (1999)
- Redken (1960)
- shu uemura (1983)
- SkinCeuticals (1997)
- Thayers (1847)
- Urban Decay (1996)
Other brands in facial skin care, and who owns them
The 76 brands in facial skin care on Brandtree belong to 38 owners. The largest is POLA ORBIS, with 6; L'Oréal has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| DECENCIA | POLA ORBIS | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Clinique | Estée Lauder | 🇺🇸 United States |
| ANYA | Proya | 🇨🇳 China |
| COSRX | Amorepacific | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| Clé de Peau Beauté | Shiseido | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Paula's Choice | Unilever | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| ALBION | KOSÉ | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| O HUI | LG H&H | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
About the owner: L'Oréal
L'Oréal is a publicly listed company headquartered in Clichy, France, founded in 1909. Brandtree records 21 brands under its control, and it is listed as EPA: OR.
L'Oréal was founded in 1909 by chemist Eugène Schueller, who had developed a hair dye. It is the largest cosmetics company in the world and is organised into consumer products, luxe, dermatological beauty and professional products. The Bettencourt Meyers family and Nestlé are its two largest shareholders.
🇺🇸 Kiehl's 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, Kiehl's among them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Kiehl's?
The parent company of Kiehl's is L'Oréal, a publicly listed company headquartered in France.
Is Kiehl's American or French?
Kiehl's originated in the United States in 1851, but it is owned today by L'Oréal, which is headquartered in France. So Kiehl's is an American-origin brand under French ownership.
Since when has L'Oréal owned Kiehl's?
L'Oréal has owned Kiehl's since 2000.
Is Kiehl's still owned by L'Oréal?
Yes. As of 28 September 2026, Kiehl's is still owned by L'Oréal. 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] L'Oréal Universal Registration Document 2025 — L'Oréal S.A., Annual report, published 1 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] USPTO: KIEHL'S, serial 73832326 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 28 September 2026.
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