Combe

What Combe does

Combe is a privately-held personal care products company founded in 1949 by Ivan Combe and headquartered in White Plains, New York. The company manufactures and markets consumer health and personal care products through four owned brands: Just For Men (men's hair color), Vagisil (women's vaginal health), Seabond (denture adhesives), and Astroglide (sexual wellness lubricants). Combe runs a vertically integrated operating model with two U.S. manufacturing plants and on-site laboratories producing FDA-regulated over-the-counter drug products alongside cosmetics and personal lubricants.

The company's business model is brand-driven consumer packaged goods, monetized through mass-market retail distribution, drug-chain placement, international distributor networks, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Each brand occupies a leading or co-leading position in its respective niche — Just For Men leads the men's hair color category, Astroglide is the #2 U.S. personal lubricant, and Vagisil is the established incumbent in women's intimate care. Products are sold in over 60 countries with localized operating presence in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Australia, India, and Thailand, providing geographic and category diversification.

Combe remains under family ownership and leadership, with Keech Combe Shetty as Executive Chair and Akshay Shetty as CEO, supported by a CPG-experienced operating team. The company has executed selective inorganic growth, most notably acquiring Astroglide from BioFilm in 2023 to extend into sexual wellness. With approximately 500 employees, Combe operates as a mid-sized, multi-category niche CPG platform with vertically integrated U.S. production, multi-jurisdiction regulatory compliance, and a multi-channel commercial footprint spanning retail, international distribution, and D2C e-commerce.

Name

Combe

Legal name

Combe Incorporated

Website

https://combe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Privately-held personal care company founded in 1949, operating four niche-leading brands — Just For Men, Vagisil, Seabond, and Astroglide — across 60+ countries with vertically integrated U.S. manufacturing and FDA-regulated OTC product lines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Care Products

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC)

Keywords

• Men's hair color
• Women's intimate health
• Denture adhesive products
• Personal lubricants
• Personal care manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

White Plains

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: Combe generates revenue through the manufacture and sale of personal care products including hair color (Just For Men), vaginal health (Vagisil), denture care (Seabond), and sexual wellness (Astroglide). Products are sold through retail partners and e-commerce channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Combe manufactures and markets a portfolio of consumer personal care brands sold in over 60 countries. Its product lines include Just For Men hair color, Vagisil women's intimate health products, Seabond denture adhesive seals, and Astroglide personal lubricants. The company owns two US manufacturing plants and in-house R&D labs, and distributes products through major retail partners, brand websites, and international distributors.

Product overview

Combe is a personal care products company operating as a portfolio of consumer brands. The company manufactures and markets personal care, beauty, and healthcare products through four main brands: Just For Men (men's hair color), Vagisil (women's vaginal health), Seabond (denture adhesive), and Astroglide (sexual wellness lubricants). The company also previously created disruptive brands including Clearasil and Odor-Eaters. Combe owns state-of-the-art laboratories, a salon for consumer testing, and two manufacturing plants in the United States, with R&I, Regulatory, Quality and Safety teams ensuring FDA compliance and clinically proven products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Just For Men: World's #1 Men's Hair Color brand offering gray care and grooming solutions, available in over 60 countries. Includes Just For Men Control GX, voted 2018 Product of the Year winner in Men's Hair Care category.
• Vagisil
• Seabond
• Astroglide

Products and services

• Just For Men Men's hair color brand offering gray care and grooming solutions, including the Control GX product line. The world's #1 Men's Hair Color brand, with over 100 million men in over 60 countries having used the brand. Control GX was voted the 2018 Product of the Year winner in the Men's Hair Care category.
• Vagisil Women's vaginal health brand offering a complete portfolio of solutions for vaginal health issues, including anti-itch creme, moisturizers, and lubricants. A trusted brand worldwide, with a mission to create an open platform for discussing vaginal, sexual, and reproductive health topics.
• Seabond Denture adhesive seals providing strong, all-day hold for denture wearers, offering a more pleasant user experience compared to traditional pasty denture pastes.
• Astroglide Sexual health and wellness personal lubricant brand, America's #2 lubricant brand, recommended by doctors. Originally developed by rocket scientist Dr. Daniel X. Wray for high heat and friction applications in the Space Shuttle program, and now adapted as a bio-compatible personal lubricant.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 million men have used Just For Men products

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• American BandstandminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1949Ivan Combe partnered with Dick Clarke by sponsoring the launch of American Bandstand to showcase Clearasil to American teenagers every weekend on TV

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Reckitt Benckiser: Global consumer health and hygiene leader owning K-Y (competes with Astroglide), Durex, Mucinex, and Lysol. Broad incumbent in personal care/sexual wellness with much greater scale than Combe.
• Beiersdorf: German personal care company behind Nivea, Eucerin, and Coppertone. Combe's SVP Sales Kyle Stenzel previously led US sales at Beiersdorf, reflecting deep operating familiarity. Broad incumbent in personal care.
• Haleon: Consumer healthcare spin-off of GSK (Sensodyne, Voltaren, Centrum, Advil). Broad incumbent in consumer health and personal care with international distribution capabilities overlapping Combe's footprint.
• Avon Products: Iconic personal care and beauty brand with strong women's intimate care legacy and global direct-selling distribution. Comparable given overlapping women-focused intimate care positioning and Combe's SVP General Counsel Anthony Santini previously served as Avon's first Chief Patent Counsel and North America General Counsel.
• Henkel: Global CPG with personal care (Schwarzkopf, Dial) and adhesives. Comparable as a diversified personal care brand operator; far larger scale than Combe.

Direct peers

• Edgewell Personal Care: Owner of Schick, Banana Boat, Playtex, and feminine care brands. Comparable as a focused mid-cap personal care brand operator competing for similar shelf space and consumer occasions.
• Church & Dwight: Diversified consumer packaged goods company with a portfolio of personal care, household, and sexual wellness brands (Trojan, Batiste, OxiClean). Most comparable US-listed mid-cap CPG to Combe's brand-portfolio model.
• Prestige Consumer Healthcare: Owns Monistat (directly competitive with Vagisil in women's intimate health), plus other OTC personal care brands. Highly comparable brand-portfolio CPG with similar category dynamics.
• LifeStyles Healthcare: Sexual wellness company producing condoms and personal lubricants (LifeStyles, Skyn). Directly comparable to Combe's Astroglide franchise in sexual wellness category dynamics and channels.

Emerging players

• Veru Inc. Healthcare company with sexual health and intimacy products (including the FC2 female condom and ENTADFI). Emerging player overlapping with Combe's Vagisil and Astroglide franchises in intimate/sexual wellness.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/combe-incorporated

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Combe