Who owns Softsoap?
Softsoap is owned by Colgate-Palmolive (the United States, NYSE: CL), which has owned the brand since 1987.[1][2]
Evidence: Colgate-Palmolive Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-23, SEC EDGAR, 23 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Colgate-Palmolive Company verified
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1980
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Bath, soap & hand care › Hand soap & sanitiser
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: CL
- Trademark registrant
- IES ENTERPRISES, INC. (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 3 sources
About Softsoap
Softsoap introduced liquid hand soap in a pump bottle to American households in 1980. Its inventor, worried that larger competitors would copy the idea immediately, bought the entire national supply of the pumps needed to make it, buying about a year of exclusivity. Colgate-Palmolive acquired the brand in 1987.
How often Colgate-Palmolive names Softsoap in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central.
Trademark record for Softsoap
The USPTO record for the Softsoap mark lists IES ENTERPRISES, INC. as the owner of record (serial number 73458195). 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.[3]
Ownership timeline of Softsoap
- 1987 – present Colgate-Palmolive [1][2] verified
Where Softsoap sits in Colgate-Palmolive
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Colgate-Palmolive ownership tree →
See the full Colgate-Palmolive brand portfolio (15) →
Other brands owned by Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive controls 15 brands on Brandtree, 10 of them in personal care & beauty.
Also in personal care & beauty
- Colgate (1873)
- Colgate Total (1992)
- elmex (1962)
- Filorga (1978)
- meridol (1990)
- Protex (1985)
- Sanex (1977)
- Speed Stick (1978)
- Tom's of Maine (1970)
Founded in the 1980s
- Fabuloso (1980)
Other brands in hand soap & sanitiser, and who owns them
The 14 brands in hand soap & sanitiser on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Ego Pharmaceuticals, with 1.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Savlon | ACI Limited | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
| Wet Ones | Edgewell | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Aqium | Ego Pharmaceuticals | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| Dermofarm | Farmec | 🇷🇴 Romania |
| Avé | Golrang Industrial Group | 🇮🇷 Iran |
| Sterillium | HARTMANN | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Savlon | ITC | 🇮🇳 India |
| Jolly | La Fabril | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
About the owner: Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive is a publicly listed company headquartered in New York, United States, founded in 1806. Brandtree records 15 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: CL.
Colgate-Palmolive traces to a New York soap and candle business started in 1806 and took its present form in 1928. Oral care is its largest business, and its Hill's Pet Nutrition subsidiary is a major veterinary pet food maker.
Colgate-Palmolive: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Softsoap 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; Softsoap is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Softsoap?
The parent company of Softsoap is Colgate-Palmolive, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is Softsoap American?
Yes. Softsoap originated in the United States in 1980 and its owner, Colgate-Palmolive, is also headquartered in the United States.
Since when has Colgate-Palmolive owned Softsoap?
Colgate-Palmolive has owned Softsoap since 1987.
Is Softsoap still owned by Colgate-Palmolive?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Softsoap is still owned by Colgate-Palmolive. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (3) & 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] Colgate-Palmolive Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-23 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 23 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] Colgate-Palmolive: Our History — Colgate-Palmolive Company, Official document; retrieved 4 October 2026.
- [3] USPTO: SOFTSOAP, serial 73458195 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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