Top 100 Companies 2023: Nivea and Coppertone Parent Company Beiersdorf Doubles Down on Emerging Markets

The performance of Beiersdorf's core brand Nivea, as well as skin cosmetics under the Eucerin and Aquaphor umbrellas, led to another good year for the German skincare specialist. This offset declines in its well-known brands La Prairie and Chantecaille.

Yucelin and Nivea have performed particularly well in emerging markets. According to the company, Nivea is now the number one facial care brand in Brazil and Mexico.

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In total, Nivea (including the color care brand Labeyroux) achieved its best performance of the century to date, surpassing the 5 billion euro sales mark, or 5.2 billion euro to be precise, with an organic sales growth of 16.2%. All regions and categories contributed to the growth, except for e-commerce, which increased its market share. Especially in France and Germany, the two most mature markets, Nivea achieved strong growth thanks to digital marketing campaigns, strong e-commerce growth and a strong focus on facial care. Overall, the Nivea Noodle Care product group outperformed the market, thanks in part to the Luminous line for blemishes, which entered a new category that includes anti-aging treatments for men. Repair&Care was relaunched with improved formulations and packaging, increasing sales tenfold in the German domestic market. Nivea Soft was relaunched in 2022 with a significantly reduced environmental impact, 95% natural extracts and a vegan formula, and an enhanced brand image.

The Derma brands Eucerin and Aquaphor achieved organic growth of 24%, with net sales of €1.3bn, driven by sun care, e-commerce and products with the hero ingredient Thiamidol. These brands performed particularly well in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

For the fourth consecutive year, Eucerin expanded its global market share for sun care products and re-launched its anti-aging products by expanding its Thiamidol line.

Aquaphor's strong performance in the US market and the development of TikTok contributed to sales growth and market share.

Luxury brands La Prairie and Chantecaille underperformed, largely due to their reliance on travel retail and the mainland China market, which has suffered from a crackdown on "buying on behalf of others." La Prairie's organic sales declined by 15.4%, while Chantecaille was down 18.4%. La Prairie's organic sales were down 15.4%, while Chantecaille's were down 18.4%. The company has decided to make 2023 a transition year for both brands. The company is working to reduce inventory at retailers, particularly in travel retail, with the aim of starting 2024 from a healthy base, strengthening its innovation channels, tilting at TikTok, and expanding brick-and-mortar sales in China through its global flagship stores.

The year 2023 is also the year of major investments in the supply chain and digital infrastructure. The new production site in Leipzig, with a capacity of 450 million products per year and a cost of €300 million, is the largest investment in the company's history. In the third quarter, the new Artech Beiersdorf Campus in Hamburg was opened. In addition, the company expanded and modernized its plants in Mexico and Poland to meet growing demand in Latin America.

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