1 December 2023
Under the Radar: From a German family business to a powerhouse for innovation, manufacturing and marketing of luxury skincare brands - BABOR BEAUTY GROUP’s Co-CEO Tim Waller on the firm’s rapid growth in the past decade
Skincare and cosmetics, yes that’s what we are going to talk about on this segment today!
Founded in 1956, our guest BABOR BEAUTY GROUP is a German family business that started out as a niche brand for professionals within the skincare industry.
The company has been headed by the third generation of the owner family since 2014 and has seen rapid growth that made it into the powerhouse for innovation, manufacturing and the marketing of industry leading luxury skincare brands.
Sales have grown from a double-digit million amount to over 240 million Euros. On the whole, the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP now employs over 900 people worldwide, with its brands represented in 70 countries by distributors or subsidiaries.
Question is – what did the third generation owners do differently to unlock the value we’ve seen, and what are the growth opportunities for the future?
Speaking of growth, BABOR now wants to deepen its presence in international markets. The goal is to increase the share of its business outside of Central Europe from about 30 per cent to between 60 and 70 per cent by 2030.
But what does the firm intend to do to achieve such ambitious goals, and which is the most important geographical market it will focus on as a starting point?
Meanwhile, the firm also recently underwent a rebranding initiative to strengthen its global premium positioning, but how far will this complement BABOR’s other efforts to internationalise?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Tim Waller, Co-CEO, BABOR BEAUTY GROUP and Group President, BABOR & Premium Brands.

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