Living in the US, it’s easy to forget that only a few major companies are responsible for almost everything we buy.
For example, you could start your morning with a bowl of Cheerios, have Progresso chicken noodle soup for dinner, and enjoy Häagen-Dazs ice cream before bed, unaware that General Mills owned every aspect of your diet.
Similar to how General Mills owns many household-name brands in the US, many global companies have acquired American companies to round out their portfolios.
It means that brands you might think of as all-American are actually owned by companies overseas.
Here are 15 of the most surprising classic American brands to have been acquired by international companies.
Tiffany & Co. was acquired by French luxury group LVMH in 2021.
The first Tiffany jewelry store opened in New York City in 1837, and it has since become an iconic American brand. With its signature Tiffany Blue boxes, the company has made its impact on American pop culture, with contributions to the Great Seal of the United States, the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy, and campaigns with Beyoncé and Jay-Z. And, of course, who could forget Audrey Hepburn’s starring role as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”?
However, despite its impact on American life and culture, the company began losing revenue in 2015, Fast Company reported, eventually leading to its acquisition by LVMH, or Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, for $15.8 billion in 2021.
The brand’s headquarters remain in New York City, and under the leadership of Alexandre Arnault, the company has once again begun to thrive in the luxury world — the company even reopened its flagship store in April 2023.
German conglomerate JAB Holding Company owns Panera Bread.
The popular fast-casual restaurant was founded by Ronald M. Shaich and Louis Kane in 1987 as the St. Louis Bread Company, according to the company’s website.
The brand became popular for its focus on fresh ingredients, and in 2017, JAB Holding Company purchased Panera Bread for $7.5 billion. JAB later grouped Panera with Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels under the company name Panera Brands.
Panera Bread has faced rising scrutiny since late 2023 due to its “Charged” beverages, with some customers accusing the company of failing to properly indicate the drinks’ high levels of caffeine. The drinks have been the target of three separate lawsuits, two of which were wrongful death lawsuits. A spokesperson for Panera previously told BI that the company stands by the safety of its products, though it did add additional warning labels in October 2023.
In May 2024, it was reported that Panera would discontinue the Charged drinks, switching them for new items. Panera told Bloomberg the change was part of its “menu transformation.”
The fast-casual restaurant has experienced a drop in visitor numbers in recent years, leading the company to devise a new strategy to reinvest in ingredients, products, and improve service, CNBC reported in 2025.
American designer Marc Jacobs sold a majority stake of his namesake brand to LVMH in 1997.
From the grunge influences of the ’90s to The Tote Bag, Marc Jacobs has been a staple in the American fashion scene for decades. He notably became the youngest designer to win the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent in 1987.
After Jacobs and his business partner, Robert Duffy, joined Louis Vuitton in 1997, he sold his majority stake to LVMH.
LVMH continues to own the Marc Jacobs brand, as well as other luxury fashion houses like Christian Dior, Givenchy, Celine, Fendi, and Loewe. In January, the company reported solid economic performance, though it marked a decline from its brands’ record-breaking 2023, when it brought in €86.2 billion, or around $90 billion.
Anheuser-Busch was acquired by the Belgian-Brazilian company InBev in 2008.
It’s hard to believe the company that owns Budweiser — with its Clydesdale horses, “Free Bird” Super Bowl commercials and Midwest history predating the Civil War — could be anything other than American. However, the brewing company behind iconic beer brands like Bud Light and Michelob Ultra has been owned by Belgian-Brazilian company InBev since 2008.
Anheuser-Busch was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1852 by George Schneider. Its products grew into some of the most iconic brands in the United States before being acquired by InBev.
The company, now known as Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the world and ranked 72 on Forbes’ 2023 Global 2000 list.
7-Eleven is owned by Seven & i Holdings, a Japanese company.
7-Eleven was founded in Texas in 1927 and grew exponentially to become one of the largest and most recognizable retailers in the world. In the US, the chain’s Slurpees became so popular that a National Free Slurpee Day is celebrated annually on July 11.
What may come as a surprise is that the store is even more popular internationally, specifically in Japan.
In 2005, 7-Eleven, Inc. was purchased by SEJ Asset Management & Investment Company, which in turn is owned by Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., based in Tokyo.
The New York Times reported that as of September 10, 2025, there are over 22,000 7-Elevens in Japan. It also operates, franchises, or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the US, according to the company.
Trader Joe’s has been owned by the German-based company Aldi Nord for nearly 50 years.
In 1967, Joe Coulombe founded Trader Joe’s in Pasadena, California. Just 12 years later, he sold the company to Aldi Nord, one of the two German companies that own the Aldi supermarket brand. Aldi Nord’s independent sister company, Aldi Süd, owns all Aldi stores in the US.
Trader Joe’s has seen a massive growth in popularity in recent years, and this year the grocery chain was ranked the best supermarket in the US for customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
British company Unilever owns Vaseline.
In 1870, Robert Augustus Chesebrough created the brand Vaseline Petroleum Jelly in Brooklyn, New York. The product was a big hit and “by 1875, Americans were buying Vaseline Petroleum at the rate of a jar a minute,” Vaseline said on its website.
The company has grown to include lotions, lip balms, hand creams, and body oils.
In 1987, Vaseline’s manufacturer, Chesebrough-Pond’s Inc., was acquired by the US arm of Unilever, itself a British company, for $3.1 billion, The New York Times reported.
It’s now part of Unilever’s “Beauty & Wellbeing” family, which also includes TRESemmé, Simple, and Shea Moisture, among other brands.
Ben & Jerry’s is known for its humble beginnings in Vermont, but the ice cream giant is also owned by The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield began their famous ice cream business in Burlington, Vermont, in 1978 and are known not only for their countless delicious ice cream flavors but also for their progressive activism.
When the company was sold to Unilever for $326 million in 2000, Cohen and Greenfield maintained their right for the company “to have an independent board to guide its social mission,” reported the BBC.
Ben & Jerry’s has been vocal about its support for racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice, and refugee rights, in addition to other causes.
In March 2024, Unilever announced its plan to spin off its ice cream brands — including Ben & Jerry’s, as well as Klondike Bars, Breyer’s, Magnum, and Talenti — into a stand-alone business as part of a restructuring. The spin-off was completed in December 2025, and Ben & Jerry’s became owned by the Magnum Ice Cream Company, based in the Netherlands.
Ralph Lauren Fragrance, a subdivision of Ralph Lauren, is owned and operated by L’Oréal Group.
The name Ralph Lauren is synonymous with American flags, polo players, and preppy Ivy Leaguers.
While Ralph Lauren as a whole is still an American-owned company, the subdivision Ralph Lauren Fragrance was acquired by L’Oréal Group, which is headquartered in Clichy, France.
Ralph Lauren Fragrance belongs to the group’s Luxe Division, which includes brands like Viktor & Rolf, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Giorgio Armani Beauty.
Burger King is now owned by the Canadian Restaurant Brands International.
Since its founding in 1954 in Jacksonville, Florida, Burger King has seen a lot of ownership changes. The company was first sold to Pillsbury in 1967, which was bought up by British company Grand Metropolitan in 1989.
Investment groups purchased the chain before selling it to 3G Capital, a Brazilian company, in 2010. Finally, Burger King, under 3G Capital, merged with the Canadian fast-food chain Tim Horton’s to form Restaurant Brands International (RBI).
Popeyes is also owned by RBI.
The fast-food chain was acquired by RBI in 2017 in a $1.8 billion deal, CNBC reported.
Popeyes was founded near New Orleans in 1972 and utilizes its Louisiana identity in its branding and marketing.
Stouffer’s, best known for its frozen entrées, is owned by Swiss company Nestlé.
The same Nestlé that owns Nesquik chocolate milk and Toll House chocolate chips also owns Stouffer’s.
Although the company was founded in 1924 as a restaurant called Stouffer’s Lunch, frozen meals would eventually become its signature product.
Nestlé — the world’s largest food-and-beverage company for more than a decade, as reported by Forbes — purchased Stouffer’s in 1973.
With tasty meals like lasagna and stuffed peppers, Stouffer’s remains a staple in freezers across the US.
CeraVe was founded by American dermatologists in 2005 but is now owned by L’Oréal.
In 2017, Women’s Wear Daily reported that L’Oréal acquired skincare brands CeraVe, AcneFree, and Ambi for $1.3 billion.
The popular skincare brand — which appeared in a standout 2024 Super Bowl ad featuring Michael Cera — now lives within L’Oréal’s Dermatological Beauty division alongside Vichy Laboratories, La Roche Posay, SkinCeuticals, and Skin Better Science.
Holiday Inn has been owned by a British company for nearly 40 years.
Despite being founded in the 1950s in Tennessee, the company behind one of America’s most recognizable hotel chains was purchased by Bass, a British beer company, in 1989. The Bass company rebranded as Six Continents before becoming IHG Hotels & Resorts in 2003.
Between the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands alone, IHG Hotels & Resorts has over 4,500 hotels worldwide, according to the company.
Krispy Kreme is a publicly owned company, but JAB Holding still holds a 44.77% stake.
Vernon Rudolph founded the brand known for its glazed doughnuts in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Although its headquarters remained in the state, German conglomerate JAB Holding took the company private from 2016 to 2021.
Krispy Kreme has since become a public company again, but JAB still owns nearly half the company’s shares, so although it’s not technically internationally owned, there’s a significant division worth recognizing.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post 15 companies you’d think are American-owned but actually aren’t appeared first on Business Insider.
