Who owns Little Trees?
Little Trees is owned by Car-Freshner (the United States).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: About Little Trees, CAR-FRESHNER Corporation. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- CAR-FRESHNER Corporation reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, Watertown
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, Watertown
- Founded
- 1952 by Julius Sämann
- Category
- Home care › Air care & pest control › Air freshener
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Little Trees
Little Trees are hanging car air fresheners shaped like an abstract evergreen tree. According to the company, Julius Sämann invented the first car air freshener in 1952 after a milk truck driver in northern New York complained about the smell of spilled milk, combining fragrance with a blotter material. Early scents were Royal Pine, Spice and Bouquet. In parts of Europe the product is sold as Arbre Magique and Wunder-Baum. The trees are made in Watertown, New York and DeWitt, Iowa.
Ownership timeline of Little Trees
- Current owner Car-Freshner [1] reported
Where Little Trees sits in Car-Freshner
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Car-Freshner ownership tree →
Other brands in air freshener, and who owns them
The 11 brands in air freshener on Brandtree belong to 9 owners. The largest is S.T. Corporation, with 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Sawaday | Kobayashi Pharmaceutical | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Dashutan Charcoal | S.T. Corporation | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Kaori | Dinant | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
| Febreze | Procter & Gamble | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Air Wick | Reckitt | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Glade | SC Johnson | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Spring | Square Toiletries | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
| QAIS | Sunstar | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
About the owner: Car-Freshner
Car-Freshner is a privately held company headquartered in Watertown, United States. Brandtree records 1 brand under its control.
CAR-FRESHNER Corporation runs the Little Trees website and is based in Watertown, New York. The site names Julius Sämann as founder of the brand and credits copyright and the Tree design, CAR-FRESHNER and LITTLE TREES trademarks to Julius Sämann Ltd.; how the two entities relate is not explained there, so both are noted. The company is private and files nothing publicly, so the ownership chain above Car-Freshner is not documented.
Car-Freshner: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Little Trees and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,399 brands that began in the United States. 461 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Little Trees is not one of them.
- 3-IN-ONE — WD-40 Company 🇺🇸
- Air Wick — Reckitt 🇬🇧
- Ajax — Colgate-Palmolive 🇺🇸
- All-Clad — Groupe SEB 🇫🇷
- Amazon Basics — Amazon 🇺🇸
- American Girl — Mattel 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Little Trees?
The parent company of Little Trees is Car-Freshner, a privately held company headquartered in the United States.
Is Little Trees American?
Yes. Little Trees originated in the United States in 1952 and its owner, Car-Freshner, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Little Trees still owned by Car-Freshner?
Yes. As of 3 October 2026, Little Trees is still owned by Car-Freshner. 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] About Little Trees — CAR-FRESHNER Corporation, Official document; retrieved 3 October 2026.
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