Update: Beiersdorf ranks at #7 on our latest report Top 20 Global Beauty Companies 2021.

Beiersdorf is #8 on this year's list of Top Global Beauty Companies.

Below is a look at the company's 2020 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands, and latest innovations.

Corporate Sales

$8.6 billion

Beauty (Consumer) Sales

$7 billion

Key Personnel

• Stefan De Loecker, chairman of the executive board
• Members of the executive board: Reinhard Pöllath, chairman
• Thomas Ingelfinger, Europe (excluding Germany and Switzerland)
• Zhengrong Liu, Greater China/Northeast Asia
• Ramon A. Mirt, emerging markets
• Asim Naseer, cosmetic brands

Major Products/Brands

• Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie
• Labello, Florena, Aquaphor
• Slek, LYCL, Maestro
• Coppertone, Skin Stories, Oscar&Paul

New Products

• Nivea Naturally Good, Nivea Hyaluron Cellular Filler & Elasticity & Reshape
• Nivea Men Sensitive All-in-One Balm, Nivea Sun Sensitive Immediate Protection
• Nivea Deeply Moisturizing  Bodywash, Nivea Men Sensitive All-in-One Balm
• Eucerin Sun Pigment Control LSF50+, Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Moisture Booster
• La Prairie Skin Caviar Eye Lift; Florena Fermented Skin care color cosmetics

Comments

Overall group sales grew organically by 5.8% to $8.6 billion in 2019. In the first year of Beiersdorf’s C.A.R.E. + strategy program—which aims to generate competitive, sustainable growth and added benefits for consumers—the Consumer Business Segment achieved organic sales growth of 4.8%, reaching $7 billion—and gained market share with its face and skin care ranges.

Consumer sales were strongest in Europe ($4.2 billion; 2.3% higher than the previous year), followed by The Americas ($1.5 billion, up 8.3% over the previous year), then Africa/Asia/Australia ($2.8 billion, up nearly 10%).

The Eucerin Anti-Pigment line quickly became the most successful product launch in the history of the brand. One of the greatest outcomes of the C.A.R.E. + program was Beiersdorf’s acquisition of Coppertone, the iconic U.S. sun care brand.

They now own the three leaders in the segment: Coppertone, Nivea Sun and Eucerin. The German powerhouse also made a pledge to sustainable packaging, setting a 2025 goal for all packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable—and to increase the recycled content of their plastic packaging in Europe to 25%.

Nivea Hyaluron Cellular Filler + Elasticity & Reshape was one of the strongest launches in the Nivea face segment.

In the U.S., Nivea introduced the two-in-one Deeply Moisturizing  Bodywash series, a new shower gel range.

In December, Beiersdorf strengthened its footprint in Korea, acquiring a “significant stake” in LYCL, a Seoul-based skin care and tech start-up. With its own cosmetics brand Unpa.Cosmetics, LYCL has differentiated itself from other K-beauty brands by actively using big data collected from its review and content platform Unpa.me for K-beauty products and influencer network platform Palett.me in development of its products.

LYCL was one of five startups that were chosen by Beiersdorf AG for its K-beauty startup incubation program Nivea Accelerator.

2020 Highlights

In February, Beiersdorf acquired Indie naturals brand, Stop The Water While Using Me! Iain Holding, general manager of Beiersdorf Germany/Switzerland, said, “Stop The Water While Using Me! will strengthen the Beiersdorf brand family with innovative, natural skin care and the know-how of a highly dedicated team.”

In May, Beiersdorf announced a 3.6% fall in Q1 results over the previous year, which included a plunge of 36% in La Prairie sales for the quarter due to the plummeting of international travel due to the pandemic. While sunscreen sales also dropped, hand creams and hand washes experienced growth.

In July, Beiersdorf announced a first-half sales drop of 10.9% in its consumer business, due to the consequences of Covid-19.

Beiersdorf’s outlook did not include any impact from the coronavirus in China, even though the company makes almost a third of its sales in the Africa/Asia/Australia region, where sales for its consumer unit jumped 8.4% in 2019.

Also in July, Beiersdorf formed a partnership with recycling specialist Werner & Mertz, aiming to create an industry standard and to provide the cosmetics market with post-consumer recyclables for beauty packaging.

In August, Nivea was trialing a refill station for its shower gel in German drugstore chain DM. The refill machine is the result of a collaboration between the company’s packaging and R&D functions and will explore the concept of reusable bottles.”

“While the situation of the coronavirus remains dynamic, its impact on our business is not quantifiable yet. We therefore expect stronger headwinds in 2020,” said chief executive Stefan de Loecker.

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