Ownership profile
Who owns Kyolic?
Kyolic is a dietary supplement brand wholly owned by Wakunaga of America, Co., Ltd., itself a subsidiary of Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a privately held, family-owned Japanese pharmaceutical company founded in 1955 — no private equity involvement has been identified.
Ownership profile
Kyolic
Wakunaga of America, Co., Ltd.
Evidence (8)
Kyolic's official website footer and product pages confirm the legal owner as 'Wakunaga of America, Co. Ltd' and describe it as 'a privately held, family-owned health and wellness company.'
https://kyolic.com/brands/kyolic/In April 2025, AstaReal (a Swedish subsidiary of Fuji Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.) acquired the Swedish and Norwegian market distribution rights for Kyolic — this is a regional distribution deal, not a global ownership transfer of the Kyolic brand or Wakunaga of America.
https://news.cision.com/astareal/r/established-health-supplement-gets-new-owner---astareal-makes-big-push-in-consumer-market,c4133050AstaReal is described as 'fully owned by Fuji Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.' — a corporate acquirer, not a private equity firm, and the transaction was limited to Swedish and Norwegian market portfolios.
https://news.cision.com/astareal/i/kyolic,c3396931Kyolic is described as 'a subsidiary of Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.' and the U.S. operating entity is Wakunaga of America, Co., Ltd., listed as the parent company for Kyolic.
https://www.digitopia.agency/case-study-kyolicPitchBook lists Wakunaga Pharmaceutical's ownership status explicitly as 'Privately Held (no backing)' and financing status as 'Corporation.'
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/493554-61Wakunaga of America is a U.S. subsidiary of Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japanese private company founded in 1955 with stated capital of 544.5 million JPY and no disclosed external financing, venture, or PE backing.
https://biobase.whitefordresearch.com/companies/wakunaga-pharmaceuticalNo Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, acquisition, IPO, or PE valuation event has been publicly identified for Wakunaga Pharmaceutical or Wakunaga of America.
https://biobase.whitefordresearch.com/companies/wakunaga-pharmaceuticalMultiple retail and product listings confirm the manufacturer of Kyolic products as 'Wakunaga of America Co. Ltd.' and describe the company as 'privately held and family owned.'
https://www.amazon.com/Garlic-Plus-KYOLIC-Formula-Kyolic/dp/B00014DMVEWhat's uncertain
- The AstaReal/Cision press release describes acquiring 'the Swedish and Norwegian market portfolios' of Kyolic — this is a regional distribution rights deal, not a full global brand acquisition. Global brand ownership remains with Wakunaga of America / Wakunaga Pharmaceutical. Crunchbase erroneously lists this as a full acquisition of Kyolic; this appears to be a mischaracterization.
- Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a privately held Japanese company; Japanese private company ownership is not subject to public disclosure requirements, so full family ownership structure could not be independently verified via a public registry.
- No SEC EDGAR filings were found for Wakunaga of America, consistent with its status as a private, non-reporting entity.
- PE involvement is scored 'none' based on multiple independent sources describing the company as privately held and family-owned with no backing, but the absence of a public registry trail means this cannot be confirmed with absolute certainty.