The 10 Foreign-owned ‘Chinese’ Brands

Zhonghua toothpaste is a branch by Dutch Unilever, Dabao belongs to Johnson & Johnson of U.S., Nanfu battery is aquired by America’s Gillette, and even the medicine White & Black marks the label of Germany’s Bayer Medical Company. All these products are rooted in China and in fact are owned by companies from Europe, USA or elsewhere. Now here is list of 10 foreign-owned Chinese brands that are widely perceived to be as Chinese brands by Chinese people.

1.  SUPOR 苏泊尔

SUPOR is China’s leading cookware maker. French Groupe SEB owns about 70% of its interest and actually controls this company.

2. Zhong Hua 中华牙膏

Zhonghua is one of China’s top three toothpaste brands, after Crest and Colgate, with a 16% market share. The phrase “Zhonghua” is a literary term used synonymously with China. But this toothpaste is now owned by Dutch Unilever.

3. Dabao 大宝

Dabao is China’s old and famous cosmetics brand based in Beijing. Now this brand is fully owned by the US -based consumer goods giant Johnson & Johnson.

4. Nanfu 南孚电池

Nanfu is one of China’s largest battery producers founded in 1988 in Fujian Province. Now 70% of its stake is owned by Gillette from the United States.

5. Harbin Beer 哈尔滨啤酒

Founded in 1900 in Harbin, Harbin Beer is the oldest beer brand in China. Now this time-honored brand is owned by Anheuser–Busch InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian beverage and brewing company in Belgium.

6. Yinlu 银鹭

Yinlu is a Chinese foods and beverages brand. In 2011, Nestlé purchased 60% of Yinlu Foods, and became the parent company and main shareholder.

7. Shuanghui 双汇

Shuanghui is a well-known meat processing company headquartered in Luohe, Henan Province. It is the largest meat producer in China. In 2007, its majority shares was acquired by Rotary Vortex Limited, a subsidiary company of the US Goldman Sachs Group.

8. Mininurse 小护士

Mininurse is a famous Chinese skincare brand. It was acquired by L’Oreal Group in 2003. But it seems to be fading away in the Chinese market in recent years. Some doubt that L’Oreal deliberately eliminated this brand after its acquisition.

 9. Tongyi Lubricant 统一润滑油

Founded in 1993 in Beijing, Tongyi is a famous motor oil and lubricants brand. It became a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2006.

10. Robust 乐百氏

Founded in 1989, Robust is a food & beverage brand from China`s Guangdong Province. Now it is a subsidiary of French company Groupe DANONE.