Colgate ZigZag toothbrush

Colgate is a global leader in oral hygiene with a rich heritage dating back to 1806. Originally founded by William Colgate in New York City as a starch, soap, and candle business, it entered the dental care market with toothpaste in jars by 1873. The brand became an iconic household name after introducing the first collapsible toothpaste tube in 1896. In 1928, Colgate merged with the Palmolive-Peet Company to form what is known today as Colgate-Palmolive.

Today, Colgate-Palmolive is a multinational giant headquartered in New York, USA. While the company maintains a strong corporate presence in Australia with offices in Sydney, most manufacturing of oral care products for the Australian market—including the ZigZag toothbrush range—is conducted overseas. High-volume manufacturing facilities in China, Vietnam, and India produce hundreds of millions of toothbrushes annually to supply global markets. Specifically, Colgate's Sanxiao plant in China is cited as one of the world's largest toothbrush manufacturing hubs.

Ownership of the brand transitioned from the founding Colgate family to a publicly-traded structure in the mid-20th century. Currently, Colgate-Palmolive is a major public corporation owned by institutional investors, such as The Vanguard Group and BlackRock, and continues to expand its portfolio through subsidiaries and strategic acquisitions in the health and home care sectors.