World Champion Austria Burgenland
No need for wrinkles despite the Covid pandemic Austrian cosmetics producers can succeed on the international beauty market also during times of crises. j by Britta Biron
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aries and numerous distribution partners in over 70 countries, this family business has also included skincare products for the end consumer in its range. This product range was enlarged last year by a liquid hyaluronic acid mask and this summer by five special serums added to its Farewell range. Parallel to the latest launch, an online shop for consumer products in the most important markets also opened.
Hyaluronic acid makes everything run smoothly It’s not rare to see medium-sized Austrian businesses among the world market leaders in various industries, like furniture fittings (Julius Blum), cable cars (Doppelmayr), LED systems (Lumitec) or plastic packaging (Alpla). However, there are also home-grown companies in the beauty business getting in on the global act. Corma Pharma is among the leading producers of hyaluronic acid injections, without which minimally-invasive aesthetic medicine – a field that has been expanding in previous years – would quite literally not be able to run smoothly. Alongside the professional products, which are developed and manufactured in the factory in Leobendorf, Lower Austria, and more than 12 subsidi-
Big player in eyelashes and eyebrow styling GW Cosmetics is another Austrian world market leader in the field of dyes as well as care and styling products for eyebrows and eyelashes; a booming market for many years now. RefectoCil and Beauty Lash serve the professional and consumer sectors. Then there is also the luxury natural cosmetics brand Master Lin in the product range, and GW Cosmetics is also successful in the private label sector. Altogether, the company makes 700 products in its factory in Leopoldsdorf and has an annual production output of around 25 million units. While the Covid pandemic led to big losses for several large cosmetics brands, it didn’t have a negative impact on GW Cosmetics. Very much to the contrary. In 2020, turnover went up by around 23 percent to 32 million euros and it was able to continue its growth trajectory. “We’re very pleased with this. We owe this success on the one hand to our employees who worked throughout the lockdown and on the other hand to our sales and private label partners, who also tirelessly fought hard for our customers during the pandemic,” says Beatrice Cox-Riesenfelder, who runs the company along with owner Rainer Deisenhammer. The closure of hair and cosmetics salons in many markets did at times seriously impact professional business, the largest business sector. However, the demand for consumer products increased
© Croma Pharma
hen people talk about the beauty of Austria, they usually mean its scenery. However, the formula Austria = Beauty seems to come undone when it comes to beauty in terms of cosmetics. Even though there are no Austrian cosmetics companies that are in the same league as international beauty giants such as Estée Lauder or L´Oréal, size isn’t everything.
Corma Pharma has expanded its b2c range with five new special serums.
