elmex is owned by Colgate-Palmolive (the United States, NYSE: CL), which acquired the brand on 1 May 2004.[1][2] elmex was founded in 1962 in Switzerland and was independent until 2004.
elmex is a Swiss fluoride toothpaste brand sold through pharmacies and recommended by dentists, formulated with amine fluoride developed at the University of Zurich in the 1950s. Colgate-Palmolive acquired it with the GABA oral care business in 2004, adding a pharmacy channel it had lacked in Europe.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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Colgate-Palmolive acquired GABA Holding, a Swiss oral care company selling elmex and meridol through European pharmacies. The purchase gave Colgate a pharmacy channel and a specialist reputation in Europe that its mass-market toothpaste could not reach on its own. The price was not disclosed.
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The parent company of elmex is Colgate-Palmolive, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
elmex originated in Switzerland in 1962, but it is owned today by Colgate-Palmolive, which is headquartered in the United States. So elmex is a Swiss-origin brand under American ownership.
Colgate-Palmolive completed its acquisition of elmex on 1 May 2004, after announcing the deal on 1 March 2004. The price was not disclosed.
elmex was an independent company from its founding in 1962 until Colgate-Palmolive acquired it in 2004.
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, elmex is still owned by Colgate-Palmolive. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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