You buy a deodorant because of the story on the pack: small team, plant-based, kinder to the planet. Then you find out a multinational owns it. Plenty of people want to know that before they buy, and almost no brand puts it on the label.

Native is owned by Procter & Gamble, which bought the brand in November 2017. Wild is owned by Unilever, which announced the deal on 1 April 2025. Schmidt's is Unilever's too. Of the other natural brands below, none has been reported as acquired by a larger group, and Lifelong is independent.

Natural deodorant brand ownership table (UK, 2026)

Every row below comes from a named source, listed under the table. Where a brand does not publish its ownership structure, I have said so rather than guess.

Sources: Beauty Packaging (Native, 16 November 2017); Axios (Native price); Happi (Schmidt's announcement); Cosmetics Design Europe (Schmidt's completion); Cosmetics Business (Wild); Internet Retailing (Wild statement); Beauty Matter (Fussy); The Grocer (Rollr); Typeform (Nuud); Salt of the Earth.

How I checked, and what I left out

Each acquisition above was confirmed by at least two outlets, and I have used the month the deal was reported rather than a precise legal completion date where sources differ. For Fussy, Rollr and Nuud I could find founders and investors but no company statement on who holds the shares, which is why the table says "not publicly stated" instead of "independent".

I left out Each & Every, a US brand sold mainly in America. I found no reported acquisition, but I also found no ownership statement, and I would rather leave a brand out than guess.

Who owns Native deodorant?

Procter & Gamble owns Native. Trade press reported the sale in mid-November 2017, about two years after Moiz Ali launched the San Francisco brand. P&G did not publish a price, though Axios reported roughly $100 million in cash.

So, did Native get bought out? Yes. Ali said at the time that he was excited to join the P&G family of brands, and he continued as CEO. P&G's own comment was that Native was a strong strategic match for its deodorant business. Our longer piece, Native deodorant sold to P&G: what sustainable shoppers should know, covers the detail.

Who owns Wild deodorant?

Unilever owns Wild. It announced the acquisition on 1 April 2025 and called the refillable brand a strategic addition to its personal care portfolio. If you have been wondering whether Wild is owned by Unilever, that is the answer, and it applies to the whole range rather than just deodorant.

Wild's co-founders said the brand's mission and values were unchanged, and Charlie Bowes-Lyon argued that Unilever's reach would help the company cut single-use plastic from bathrooms faster. That is a reasonable argument. Wild was already on the shelves at Boots, Superdrug and the big supermarkets before the sale. We unpack this one in Wild deodorant sold to Unilever, and compare it with a rival in Wild vs Fussy: availability vs sensitive skin.

And Schmidt's?

Unilever owns Schmidt's Naturals too. The deal was announced in December 2017, a month after Native's, and trade press reported it closed in early January 2018. Unilever's stated plan was to take Schmidt's into new sales channels and countries.

Put the three deals side by side and a pattern emerges. Procter & Gamble and Unilever have each bought into natural deodorant, one after another, because shoppers moved towards it. The brands that proved the demand were the ones that got bought.

Which natural deodorant brands are still independent?

It depends what you mean by independent. If you mean not owned by a larger group, then Fussy, Rollr, Nuud, Salt of the Earth and Lifelong all fit, on the evidence available. If you mean owned only by its founders, the answer narrows quickly.

• Fussy: not acquired, but it has taken outside money. Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones put in £50,000 for 2% on Dragons' Den in 2022, a crowdfunding round followed, and Velocity Capital invested in 2023.
• Salt of the Earth: owned by one family since 2005 and, according to the company, never funded by venture capital or private equity.
• Rollr and Nuud: founder-led, with no acquisition reported. Neither publishes who holds the shares, so I won't claim more than that.

Outside investors are not the same as a corporate parent. They do expect a return, though, and most backers of this kind eventually hope for a sale. That is worth knowing, and it is not a criticism of any brand listed here.

Does it matter who owns your deodorant brand?

Honestly, it depends on what you care about. Being acquired is not automatically bad. A large owner can offer better supply chains, wider availability, more money for reformulation and cheaper prices. Some buyers like exactly that.

What changes is who the decisions ultimately answer to. A founder-owned brand answers to its founder. An acquired brand answers to a parent company with hundreds of other brands and its own targets. Neither is wrong, but you should be able to see it.

There is also a practical side. When a product changes owner, formulas, suppliers and packaging can change over the following years, and sometimes they do not. Wild's case is too recent to judge. If a particular ingredient or packaging choice is the reason you bought, check the pack again after any sale and read the ingredients list rather than relying on memory.

If you do want to check a brand yourself, three quick routes work:

1. Look at the footer or "about" page for a parent company name, such as "a Unilever company".
2. Search Companies House for the UK limited company named in the small print.
3. Search the brand name with the word "acquired" and look for trade press, not just blogs.

Where Lifelong fits

Lifelong is independent. I run it myself and it is not part of a group, which is simply a fact about the business rather than a claim to be better. The Luxe applicator is £49 and Vibes is £14.99. Refills are £8.99, and one refill lasts about eight weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Native deodorant?

Procter & Gamble owns Native. The sale was reported in November 2017, and the founder Moiz Ali stayed on as CEO at the time. P&G did not disclose the price, though Axios reported about $100 million in cash.

Did Native get bought out?

Yes. Procter & Gamble acquired Native in 2017, about two years after the brand launched. It now sits alongside P&G's other personal care brands.

Is Wild owned by Unilever?

Yes. Unilever announced its acquisition of Wild on 1 April 2025 and described it as a strategic addition to its personal care portfolio. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Who owns Fussy deodorant?

Fussy was co-founded by Matt Kennedy and Eddie Fisher and has not been reported as acquired. It has outside investors, including two Dragons' Den investors, crowdfunding backers and Velocity Capital. The size of each stake is not public.

Who owns Schmidt's deodorant?

Unilever owns Schmidt's Naturals. It announced the deal in December 2017 and completed it in early January 2018. The founders stayed involved after the sale.

Which deodorant brands are independent?

Salt of the Earth is family-owned, and Lifelong is founder-run. Fussy, Rollr and Nuud have no reported acquirer, though Fussy has outside investors. Native, Wild and Schmidt's are owned by Procter & Gamble or Unilever.

Is a natural deodorant worse if a big company owns it?

Not necessarily. Big owners can bring wider availability, stronger supply chains and money for reformulation. The change is mainly in who the brand answers to, so it comes down to what matters to you as a buyer.