PZ Cussons plc

PZ Cussons Plc is a British manufacturer and distributor of consumer goods whose origins lie in Paterson Zochonis and Company. Established in 1884 by George Paterson and George Zochonis, the business began as a trading company operating between Sierra Leone and Britain. The company subsequently expanded throughout West Africa before diversifying into manufacturing and the production of consumer goods.

In 1975 Paterson Zochonis acquired Cussons Ltd, a Manchester-based soap manufacturer founded in the nineteenth century. The acquisition brought a number of established household and personal care brands into the business, including Imperial Leather, and strengthened its manufacturing activities in the United Kingdom.

The company adopted the name PZ Cussons Plc in 2002.

During the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries it expanded through acquisitions and product development, adding brands including Original Source, Charles Worthington, Sanctuary Spa, St Tropez, and Carex. The company also maintained interests in food manufacturing and distribution, particularly in West Africa.

In the 2010s PZ Cussons established PZ Wilmar, a joint venture with Wilmar International, for palm oil cultivation and processing in Nigeria.

By 2026 PZ Cussons operated in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, East and West Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Poland. The company's headquarters are located at Manchester Business Park, Manchester. Through expansion, acquisition, and diversification, PZ Cussons developed from a nineteenth-century trading enterprise into an international manufacturing and trading company with longstanding commercial links between Britain and West Africa.