Who Owns Burt’s Bees?

Burt’s Bees is a global personal care product company based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1984 by Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby. The business began when co-founder Roxanne Quimby started making candles from Burt’s leftover beeswax.

In Mar 2024, Burt’s Bees presented its latest research on how nature-based products protect skin health and hydration. The company’s aloe-containing moisturizer improves skin barrier function and hydration in sensitive skin populations. [1]

Burt’s Bees is the #1 dermatologist-recommended natural skincare brand. The company partners with reputable organizations, like the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), on scientific and clinical studies.

In Oct 2023, Burt’s Bees announced its research findings on the benefits of nature-based regimens to cleanse, nourish, and protect skin health. The studies were presented at the hybrid Integrative Dermatology Symposium (IDS). Its topical treatment uses a unique blend of botanicals to improve the appearance of age spots on the skin. [2]

Burt’s Bees is a pioneer in naturally-derived lip and skin care solutions. The brand is known for its original Beeswax Lip Balm. It also offers other products made with natural ingredients to nourish skin from head to toe.

In 2023, Burt’s Bees lip balm catalyzed a viral beezin trend on TikTok. Beezers apply the product to their eyelids to heighten the sensation of being drunk or high. Healthcare professionals warned TikTokers from engaging in beezin. But who owns Burt’s Bees? [3]

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Who is Burt’s Bees’ Parent Company?

Burt’s Bees is a subsidiary of The Clorox Company, a multinational consumer product manufacturer based in Oakland, California. The parent organization was founded in 1913 by Archibald Taft, Edward Hughes, Charles Husband, Rufus Myers, and William Hussey. They mixed chlorine and sodium hydroxide to create Clorox, the company’s flagship product.

In Mar 2024, Clorox sold two production plants and rights to its brands in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to Apex Capital. The parent company retained its Latin America R&D and corporate hubs. [4]

Burt’s Bees is a Clorox brand listed on the NYSE under the CLX-B ticker symbol. The parent company owns Clorox, Brita, Burt’s Bees, Fresh Step, Glad, Hidden Valley, Pine-Sol, Kingsford, Liquid-Plumr, Natural Vitality, Ayudin, Chux, Clorinda, and Poett. These brands collaborate on product design and development. In Jan 2024, Burt’s Bees and Hidden Valley Ranch partnered to create four new lip balm flavors. They offered the limited-edition 4-pack Burt’s Bees lip balm infused with Hidden Valley Ranch, Buffalo Sauce, Crunchy Celery, and Fresh Carrot zests. [5]

The Clorox Company brands are found in about nine of 10 US homes and internationally. Although the parent company has been in business for over 110 years, it isn’t immune to 21^st-century threats. In Aug 2023, cybercriminals breached Clorox’s IT systems. The company placed affected networks and assets offline to mitigate the hackers’ unauthorized activity. Clorox had incurred $49 million in costs related to the cyberattack as of Dec 2023. [6]

Burt’s Bees markets itself as an Earth-friendly, natural personal care company. This strategy aligns Burt’s Bees’ positioning with Clorox’s corporate culture and production principles. In 2022, Burt’s Bees and Clorox were in the top 20 in the Power Purpose Index. Burt’s Bees ranked No. 6 among 200 companies. The index recognizes brands with a purpose beyond profit and committed to improving lives, societies, and the world. [7]

Burt’s Bees Ownership History

Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby founded Burt’s Bees in 1984. They are the original Burt’s Bees owners. The co-founders used an abandoned one-room schoolhouse as the company’s first headquarters for $150 yearly, where they bottled and sold honey. Then, Quimby began making candles from Burt’s leftover beeswax. This venture helped grow the business from $200 to $20,000 in sales within its first year. [8]

Burt’s Bees expanded beyond bottled honey to provide other products that used honey and beeswax, including furniture polish and edible spreads. The company ventured into personal care products, such as natural soaps, perfumes, toothpaste, shampoo, and, lip balm. Burt’s Bees was incorporated in 1991. Quimby forced Shavitz out of the company’s operations in 1993 and bought Shavitz’s one-third stake in the business six years later, becoming Burt’s Bees’ sole owner.

Private equity firm AEA Investors acquired 80% of Burt’s Bees for $173 million. Quimby retained a 20% share and a seat on the company board, and Shavitz was paid $4 million.

In 2007, Clorox acquired Burt’s Bees for $925 million. The company had over 197 products before its acquisition. In the 2010s, Burt’s Bees lip balm catalyzed the Beezin trend on the consumer market. Beezin made its 2023 comeback on TikTok. [9]

Burt’s Bees leveraged Clorox’s resources and network to fuel its growth. The company invested in marketing and introduced a full cosmetics line in 2017. By Mar 2018, Burt’s Bees was selling one tube of its lip balm per second. The company expanded its personal care line to cater to pets.

In Jun 2021, Burt’s Bees was sued for marketing its 2-in-1 Tearless conditioner for puppies and Oatmeal Shampoo for dogs as “99.7% natural.” The Clorox brand partnered with rePurpose Global in 2022 to finance a critical recycling infrastructure. This project helps prevent plastic waste from flowing into the ocean. [10]

Clorox Shareholder Structure

Burt’s Bees is a Clorox company. Clorox acquired 100% of Burt’s Bees from its stockholders in a transaction structured as a merger. The parent organization is a public company listed on the NYSE under the CLX symbol. As of Dec 2023, Clorox had 130,767,160 Stock A shares with one vote. The company owns 6,660,827 shares, with the remaining 123,906,852 listed as free-float shares. [11]

Clorox’s shareholder structure has insiders, institutional owners, and individual investors. About 1,460 institutions own CLX shares. As of Dec 2023, Vanguard Group was Clorox’s largest institutional shareholder, with 12.27%. The group owns 15,228,948 CLX shares. Blackrock is the company’s second-largest shareholder with 8.15%, followed by State Street at 6.77%, FMR at 2.41%, Geode Capital at 2.38%, and Morgan Stanley at 1.89%. [12]

Insiders own 0.16% of The Clorox Company. As of Mar 2024, CEO Linda Rendle was Clorox’s top insider shareholder with 80,630 shares, followed by CFO Kevin Jacobsen at 37,260, COO Eric Reynolds at 36,622, and Officer Kirsten Marriner at 26,033. Other Clorox insiders owning shares include Christine Hilt, Stacey Grier, Paul Parker, Laurene Peck, Amy Banse, and Chris Williams. [13]

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