{{Short description|Brand of personal care products owned by Colgate-Palmolive}} {{Multiple issues| {{refimprove|date=June 2016}}{{notability|Products|date=June 2016}}}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox brand | name = Sanex | logo = File:Sanex_logo.png | logo_upright = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | producttype = Personal care | currentowner = Colgate-Palmolive (2011–present) | producedby = Colegate-Pamolive Europe | country = Origin: Spain marketing and production: various. | introduced = 1984 | related = | markets = Europe and international | previousowners = Sara Lee Corporation (until 2009) <br /> Unilever (2009–2011) | trademarkregistrations = | ambassadors = | tagline = ''Keep Skin Healthy'' | website = [http://www.sanex.co.uk/ www.sanex.co.uk] (United Kingdom) [http://www.sanex.fr/ www.sanex.fr] (France) [http://www.sanex.es/ www.sanex.es] (Spain) [http://www.sanex.co.za/ www.sanex.co.za] (South Africa) }}
'''Sanex''' is a brand of personal care products owned by Colgate-Palmolive. It is sold in multiple European countries (including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Poland and Croatia) and in South Africa.
==History== The Sanex brand was introduced by Sara Lee Corporation in 1984 with the launch of Sanex Shower Gel,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/news/sanex-legacy-of-healthy-skin |title=Celebrating 40 Years of Sanex: A Legacy of Healthy Skin |website=Colgate-Palmolive |date=November 2024 |access-date=9 December 2025 }}</ref> a pioneer non-soap body cleanser.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://startupmag.co.za/2025/03/sanex-a-journey-to-the-heart-of-skin-health/ |title=Sanex: A Journey to the Heart of Skin Health |work=Startup Mag |location=South Africa |date=18 March 2025 }}</ref> It was first introduced in Spain and subsequently expanded into other European markets, becoming the company's best-selling household and body care brand.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Masaaki (Mike) Kotabe |author2=Kristiaan Helsen |contribution=Tilting Windmills: Sanex Tries to Conquer Europe |title=Global Marketing Management |year=1999 |publisher=Wiley |location=New York |isbn= 9780471353904 |pages=625–33 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Oswald A. J. Mascarenhas |title=Business Transformation Strategies: The Strategic Leader as Innovation Manager |location=New Delhi |publisher=SAGE/Response Business Books |year=2011 |isbn=9788132105015 |page=382 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Business_Transformation_Strategies/5cbrO9WK-P8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Sanex+Sara+Lee+Spain&pg=PA382&printsec=frontcover }}</ref>
Unilever acquired Sanex in 2009 as part of its purchase of the personal care division of Sara Lee Corporation.<ref>{{cite news |author=Lily Vitorovich |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125386410301640411 |title=Unilever, Sara Lee in Deal: Anglo-Dutch Giant to Buy Radox, Sanex and Other Brands |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=28 September 2009 }}</ref> The European Commission required the brand's divestment on anti-trust grounds,<ref>{{cite book |author=Irene van Staveren |title=Economics After the Crisis: An Introduction to Economics from a Pluralist and Global Perspective |location=Abingdon / New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=9781315793962 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWK2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Root Man |url=https://consumergoods.com/sara-lee-sell-body-care-business-unilever |title=Sara Lee to Sell Body Care Business to Unilever |website=Consumer Goods Technology |date=17 November 2010 }}</ref> and in 2011 it was sold to Colgate-Palmolive for £580 million (approximately $940 million in US dollars). Its sales in 2010 were €187 million ($265 million).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-03-23/colgate-to-buy-unilever-s-sanex-personal-care-unit-for-about-940-million|title=Colgate to Buy Unilever's Sanex Unit for About $940 Million|work=Bloomberg|date=March 24, 2011|access-date=June 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colgate-unilever-idUSTRE72M2Z220110323|title=Colgate buys Sanex from Unilever for $940 million|date=2011-03-23|work=Reuters|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref>
== Products == Product lines include deodorant, shower gel, liquid hand soap and body, face and hand moisturisers.
== Controversy == On August 19, 2025, a TV advert for Sanex shower gel which showed cracked black skin and smooth white skin was banned in the United Kingdom by the Advertising Standards Authority for reinforcing a racial stereotype.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 August 2025 |title=Sanex shower gel ad banned over racial stereotype |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn92znzx8zzo |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.sanex.co.uk}}
{{Colgate-Palmolive}}
Category:British brands Category:Colgate-Palmolive brands Category:Former Unilever brands Category:Personal care brands Category:1984 establishments in Europe