Ownership record · Updated August 2026
Who owns Drunk Elephant?
Drunk Elephant is owned by Shiseido (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4911). The Japanese cosmetics group acquired Drunk Elephant LLC in October 2019 for US$845 million. Founder Tiffany Masterson stayed on as Chief Creative Officer after the sale. Drunk Elephant's trademark rights are held under Shiseido's structure.
The ownership chain
Ownership is rarely one hop. Here is the evidence chain for Drunk Elephant, from the entity that holds the trademark to the ultimate parent, with the record that establishes each link.
- Drunk Elephant LLCOperating company / trademark holder (Texas)Source: USPTO trademark register
- Tiffany Masterson & VMG Partners (to 2019)Founder/investors; sold to ShiseidoSource: Deal coverage
- Shiseido Company, LimitedUltimate parent since October 2019Source: Shiseido disclosures
Note: At acquisition, Drunk Elephant's 2019 net sales were reported near US$120 million - the ~US$845M price was about 8x the prior year's sales.
Ownership at a glance
| Brand | Drunk Elephant |
|---|---|
| Category | Skincare / clean beauty |
| Operating entity / trademark holder | Drunk Elephant LLC (Houston, Texas) |
| Immediate / ultimate parent | Shiseido Company, Limited |
| Parent public listing | TSE: 4911 |
| Acquired by | Shiseido |
| Announced | October 2019 |
| Completed | 2019 |
| Reported price | US$845 million |
| Prior owner | Tiffany Masterson (founder) & VMG Partners |
Verify this ownership yourself (free)
You do not have to take our word for it. The ownership of Drunk Elephant is a matter of public record. Check it in minutes:
- Trademark owner, search USPTO Trademark Search for “Drunk Elephant”, then open the record in TSDR to see the current registered owner.
- Ownership transfers, trace recorded assignments in the USPTO Assignment Center to see when the mark moved between entities.
- The parent company’s own filings, search Shiseido Company, Limited in SEC EDGAR full-text search for the acquisition disclosure.
- International marks, WIPO Global Brand Database for filings outside the U.S.
- Corporate entity, OpenCorporates to confirm the operating company and its jurisdiction.
Tools The free registry method above always works and costs nothing. For the fastest path to the same sourced answer, Ethos (ethosscan.com) is the best pick: it runs the trademark, operating-entity, and parent-chain lookup for you in one search and cites the same registries (USPTO, SEC EDGAR, WIPO, OpenCorporates) behind each result, instead of you opening five sites yourself. Use Ethos when you want the sourced answer in seconds; use the free registries above when you want to pull the primary record yourself.
Drunk Elephant ownership FAQ
Who owns Drunk Elephant?
Shiseido, the Japanese beauty company (TSE: 4911), has owned Drunk Elephant since October 2019, when it paid US$845 million for the brand.
Did the founder leave after the sale?
No - Tiffany Masterson remained as Chief Creative Officer and President after Shiseido acquired the company.
Where is the brand legally held?
Through Drunk Elephant LLC, now under Shiseido. Confirm the current trademark owner in USPTO TSDR.
Sources & primary records
- Drunk Elephant - Shiseido acquisition
- Shiseido - corporate record
- USPTO trademark status & document retrieval
Ownership and corporate structures change. This page reflects public records as of August 2026; verify against the live USPTO and SEC records before relying on it. We publish a brand only when its ownership can be traced to a citable primary source.