Beiersdorf has its roots in Hamburg and is still based there today. Early on, the company grew internationally. Strong brands like NIVEA played an important role in this global success. Today, Beiersdorf is represented worldwide with more than 190 affiliates.
Beiersdorf was already a known name in and outside Germany before the young pharmacist Dr. Oscar Troplowitz bought the laboratory in 1890. Many doctors and pharmacists around the world learned about Beiersdorf’s products through the scientific work of Prof. Paul Gerson Unna. He had worked with the company since it was founded. Orders arrived by postcard and were handled one by one by Paul C. Beiersdorf and his eight employees.
Under Troplowitz, Beiersdorf shifted focus beyond Germany. Recognizing the international potential of the company’s brands, he expanded business abroad. Between 1894 and 1915, he registered 29 trademarks, helping establish the foundation for Beiersdorf’s long-term success. In 1893, he signed an agreement with New York-based Lehn & Fink for the US market. While Beiersdorf supplied products and trademarks, Lehn & Fink managed advertising and sales.
Over the next 20 years, Troplowitz founded representative offices and affiliates around the world. In this way, Beiersdorf brought its brand products to customers in many countries. In 1906, Beiersdorf established its first international office on Idol Lane in London and later founded its first foreign affiliate in Austria in 1914, although operations there were delayed until 1923 due to World War I.
New cosmetic brands such as NIVEA and Labello, as well as plaster brands like Hansaplast and Leukoplast, strongly supported international success in the 1920s and 1930s. Especially NIVEA sold very well. With many new products, NIVEA became Beiersdorf’s most successful brand. The success in many countries led to an expansion of production capacities.
In 1930, Beiersdorf had production sites in 23 countries. In addition, there were representatives in many other countries, as shown in a company brochure from 1929. All products for international markets had packaging in the local language. Most of this packaging was produced in the printing plant in Hamburg and shipped around the world. By the start of the Second World War in 1939, a global network of companies had been created.
After the war, almost all Beiersdorf companies were taken over as enemy property, and the NIVEA trademarks were sold in the individual countries. This was a serious setback for Beiersdorf’s international business. While rebuilding the company, Beiersdorf tried to regain the trademarks in each country. This process took the company more than 50 years.
| Year | Countries |
| 1952 | Netherlands |
| 1958 | Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil |
| 1961 | Sweden |
| 1963 | Mexico |
| 1966 | Finland |
| 1966 | Denmark |
| 1968 | African Commonwealth countries (except South Africa) |
| 1973 | USA |
| 1974 | France including former colonies (now Chad, Mali, Cameroon, and The Congo) |
| 1977 | Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Malta, Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1985 | Norway |
| 1992 | The United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Israel, Australia |
| 1993 | Romania |
| 1997 | Poland |
With the repurchase of the NIVEA trademarks in Poland in 1997, the process was completed. Today, Beiersdorf again owns the NIVEA trademarks worldwide. Since the 1950s, new markets have been entered, and more affiliates have been founded. By the end of the 1990s, Beiersdorf owned 74 international affiliates and earned almost 70% of its sales outside Germany.
