Company history
Is Shaklee still in business, and who owns it?
Yes, it is still operating, and 2026 is its seventieth year. It has changed hands more than once, which is probably why the question comes up so often. Here is the whole chain, with sources.
The ownership chain
- 1915
Forrest C. Shaklee (1894–1985), a chiropractor and nutritionist, creates a supplement he calls Shaklee’s Vitalized Minerals.
- 1956
He founds Shaklee Corporation with his two sons, selling through independent distributors.
- Late 1970s
The company lists on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1982
Shaklee enters the Fortune 500.
- 1986
Shaklee buys Bear Creek Corporation, the parent of the Harry & David mail-order business, from RJR Nabisco for about $123 million.
- 1989
After takeover attempts, Shaklee Corporation is acquired by Japan’s Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical at $28 per share, valuing the deal at roughly $395 million. Bear Creek goes with it.
- 2004
Yamanouchi sells Shaklee for about $310 million to two private-equity buyers, Ripplewood Holdings and Activated Holdings. Activated is the family holding company of Roger Barnett, who becomes Chairman and CEO.
- 2005
Yamanouchi merges with Fujisawa to form Astellas Pharma, which is why older sources name the seller differently.
- 2025
Shaklee acquires substantially all of the business of Modere, including the Liquid BioCell and Trim product lines.
What happened to Modere → - 2026
Shaklee’s seventieth year of operation.
Why people think Shaklee vanished
Three things, as far as I can tell. It left the stock market in 1989, so it stopped showing up in the places people check when they wonder whether a company still exists. It sells through distributors rather than retail shelves, so you do not walk past it. And it was Japanese-owned for fifteen years, which quietly changed how it was written about.
None of that is the same as going away. If you want the most recent evidence that it is very much operating, it spent money acquiring another company’s entire product portfolio in 2025.
Sources
- Shaklee sold to private equity firms
- Shaklee Corporation company history
- Shaklee Corp
- Shaklee Canada Inc business profile
- Shaklee press release: Modere
I am an Independent Shaklee Distributor, not a company spokesperson. The history above is drawn from published sources, all linked, so you can check any of it yourself.
Shaklee as a company: common questions
Is Shaklee still in business?
Yes. Shaklee has operated continuously since 1956, which makes 2026 its seventieth year. Shaklee Canada Inc. is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating and has been accredited since 1976. In May 2025 Shaklee acquired substantially all of Modere’s business, which is not something a company winding down does.
Who owns Shaklee?
Roger Barnett. His family holding company, Activated Holdings, acquired Shaklee together with Ripplewood Holdings in 2004 for about $310 million. Barnett is Chairman and CEO.
What happened to the Shaklee company?
Nothing dramatic, which is usually a disappointing answer. Shaklee changed owners several times: it was public on the NYSE, was bought by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical of Japan in 1989, and was sold again in 2004 to the current ownership. Those changes, plus the fact that Shaklee sells through distributors rather than shops, are probably why people ask whether it disappeared.
Did Shaklee own Harry & David?
It did. Shaklee bought Bear Creek Corporation, the parent of Harry & David, from RJR Nabisco in 1986 for about $123 million, and Bear Creek was included when Yamanouchi acquired Shaklee in 1989. The two businesses have long since gone separate ways.
Is Shaklee a Japanese company?
Not now. It was owned by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical of Japan from 1989 until 2004. Since then it has been under the ownership of Roger Barnett’s Activated Holdings.
Where is Shaklee Canada based?
Shaklee Canada Inc. is listed by the BBB at 700–529 Michigan Drive, Oakville, Ontario. Canadian orders ship from Shaklee Canada’s Ontario distribution centre.
Still deciding?
Company history is one thing. If what you actually want to know is how the products are tested, that is a separate page with separate numbers. If what is bothering you is the direct sales model, or whether the company is above board at all, those are answered plainly on their own pages rather than buried here.
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