Who owns Nelly?
Nelly is owned by Empresas Polar (Venezuela), which has owned the brand since 2001.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Empresas Polar — Hitos Históricos. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Empresas Polar reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇻🇪 Venezuela, Caracas
- Origin
- 🇻🇪 Venezuela
- Category
- Food › Dairy & alternatives › Butter
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Nelly
Nelly is a traditional-flavour margarine that Empresas Polar's own page describes as ideal for spreading, frying and sautéing, sold as an everyday cooking fat alongside the company's larger Mavesa margarine line. It reached Polar through the 2001 Mavesa acquisition, which brought a cluster of margarine and edible-fat brands into the company's food division rather than a single one.
Ownership timeline of Nelly
- 2001 – present Empresas Polar [1] reported
Where Nelly sits in Empresas Polar
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Empresas Polar ownership tree →
See the full Empresas Polar brand portfolio (17) →
Other brands owned by Empresas Polar
Empresas Polar controls 17 brands on Brandtree, 9 of them in food.
Also in food
Other brands in butter, and who owns them
The 51 brands in butter on Brandtree belong to 30 owners. The largest is KKR, with 7; Empresas Polar has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Becel | KKR | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Breakstone's | Dairy Farmers of America | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Fleurial | Cevital Agro-Industrie | 🇩🇿 Algeria |
| Familia | Lesieur Cristal | 🇲🇦 Morocco |
| Clover | Saputo | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Anchor | Lactalis | 🇫🇷 France |
| Neo Soft | Megmilk Snow Brand | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Rita | Patisen | 🇸🇳 Senegal |
About the owner: Empresas Polar
Empresas Polar is a privately held company headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela, founded in 1941. Brandtree records 17 brands under its control.
Empresas Polar is Venezuela's largest privately held company, founded in Caracas in 1941 around what became Polar Pilsen beer and grown since into the country's dominant food and beverage group. Its own history describes deliberate diversification along the corn value chain from Harina P.A.N. precooked flour, into rice, pasta, snacks, dairy, oils and packaging, and a major expansion in 2001 when it bought food conglomerate Mavesa and inherited that company's margarine, condiment, cold-cuts and home-care brands. It now also operates P.A.N. flour plants and joint ventures outside Venezuela, in Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Spain and elsewhere, describing itself as the first global mass-consumption brand to come out of Venezuela.
Empresas Polar: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇻🇪 Nelly and other Venezuelan brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 25 brands that began in Venezuela. 3 of them (12%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Nelly is not one of them.
- Club Social — Mondelēz 🇺🇸
- Angostura aromatic bitters — Angostura 🇹🇹
- Avior Airlines — Avior Airlines 🇻🇪
- Conviasa — Conviasa 🇻🇪
- Estelar — Estelar 🇻🇪
- Fabuloso — Colgate-Palmolive 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Nelly?
The parent company of Nelly is Empresas Polar, a privately held company headquartered in Venezuela.
Is Nelly Venezuelan?
Yes. Nelly originated in Venezuela and its owner, Empresas Polar, is also headquartered in Venezuela.
Since when has Empresas Polar owned Nelly?
Empresas Polar has owned Nelly since 2001.
Is Nelly still owned by Empresas Polar?
Yes. As of 21 September 2026, Nelly is still owned by Empresas Polar. 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] Empresas Polar — Hitos Históricos — Empresas Polar, Official document; retrieved 21 September 2026.
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