As with your similar prior post, neither company has ever been American. L'Oreal has always been French, distributing in the U.S. via their subsidiary, while Nestle licenses KitKat production and distribution in the U.S. to Hershey.
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2026
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L'Oreal started as a french company in 1903. They have a wholly owned subsidiary, L'Oreal USA, that they distribute products to the US with.
Kitkat is actually an english chocolate that Nestle bought in 1988. They distribute it worldwide as Nestle, but through one of their subsidiary brands, Hershey's, in the United States.
but through one of their subsidiary brands, Hershey’s
Hershey's is a Nestle subsidiary now?
Maybe not actually. It looks like they license kitkat from Nestle for the US market but Hershey itself is owned by The Hershey Trust Company which has a controlling stake. Nestle probably owns a percentage, but I'm too lazy to dig that deep.
Kitkat is an American candybar, associated with American culture, not a British chocolate bar associated with British culture. Nestle was an American company, not a Swiss company.
L'Oreal has a French-sounding name, but it was not a French company. It was an American company selling affordable and common skin-moisturizing creams at local CVS and Walgreen pharmacy stores.
Try clicking those links in my comment, wikipedia says otherwise. Why ask the question if you're not going to accept an answer with sources?
L'Oreal and Nestle were American companies, just like Mitsubishi Mazda and Suzuki Subaru were luxury divisions of Mitsubishi and Suzuki, no matter what Wikipedia now says and how people's memories change.
That is demonstrably false.
Here is an excerpt from L'Oeal's own history page:
The L’Oréal story begins in 1909, when Eugène Schueller, a chemist with a vision, founded the Société Française des Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux. He formulated hair dyes that gave Parisian women the warm, golden tones that were so in vogue at the time and were also kinder and gentler to skin and hair. That first dye was called ‘L'Auréale’, influenced by the on-trend Auréole hairstyle.
And from Nestle's history timeline:
US brothers Charles and George Page established the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. Using the abundant supplies of fresh milk in Switzerland, they started Europe's first production facility for condensed milk. They sell the milk under the Milkmaid brand. It's marketed as a safe, long-life alternative to fresh milk.
L'Oreal is known for common and affordable skin moisturizing creams, which were sold in local pharmacy stores like CVS.
Kitkat is an American brand of chocolate bars, associated with American culture, not British culture. Nestle was an American company, not a Swiss company.
That is correct, in the United States L'Oeal is known a drug store brand known for moisturizers, hair dye, and shampoo. Kitkit is a popular brand of chocolate bar in the United States.
But you understand just because something is popular in the United States doesn't mean it's an American company? Kinder Choclate is also popular in the US but Kinder is an Italian company.
Would you provide evidence of your claim refuting the origins of those companies beyond just asserting incorrect information confidently?
Just because people's memories change about what companies belong where, doesn't mean Nestle KitKat and L'Oreal were not American companies, and are deeply associated with American culture.
That's like saying Jim Carry and Ryan Gosling aren't canadian because they're popular in the US.
Nestle, Kitkat, and L'Oreal are european brands popular in the United States. No one's memory has changed or been altered.
Nestle, Kitkat, and L’Oreal are American brands, and are deeply associated with American culture, not British culture, not French culture, and not Swiss culture.
It's like, just because the history books tell you that French sailors in wooden ships conquered the country of Mexico during the American Civil War, doesn't mean it actually happened.