# Berco ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1959 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Kleve | | Status | Active | | Previous names | Berger & Co. Helmut Funke und Gottfried Herzberg (predecessor firm, Berlin-Schöneberg, 1954), "Berco"-Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg (sole proprietorship 1959-1999; since 1999 "Berco"-Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg GmbH) | | Manufacturing | Germany | | Distribution | Pharmacy | | Website | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/ | Berco is a German pharmaceutical company based in the town of Kleve whose small cosmetics line sits alongside medicines, food supplements, sports nutrition, small-animal feed and horse-care products. The business was founded in Berlin in 1959 by the merchant Gottfried Herzberg, growing out of a trading firm he had co-founded five years earlier [2]. Its legal name today is Berco - Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg GmbH ("Arzneimittel" is German for medicines). The company remains in the hands of the Herzberg family and long-serving staff, with its shares held by people who have worked there for decades. Its skincare and haircare products are sold through pharmacies, and customers can also order directly from the company [1]. Berco marked its 65th anniversary in 2024 and remains active. ## Origin & founders According to the company's own history, the story begins with Gottfried Herzberg, who as a child followed his father into the chemicals wholesale trade in Görlitz. In 1954, at the age of 30, he and his long-time friend and business partner Helmut Funke set up Berger & Co. Helmut Funke und Gottfried Herzberg in the Berlin district of Schöneberg [2]. The firm traded in chemical, technical and pharmaceutical products. In 1959 a new firm, "Berco"-Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg, emerged from Berger & Co., with Herzberg now as its sole owner [2]. Where the earlier business had been a trader, the new one also made goods: it manufactured and distributed chemical, pharmaceutical and chemical-technical products. The company was headquartered in Berlin at first. ## History & milestones In 1970 Berco moved its headquarters from Berlin to Kleve, where it has stayed since [2]. For four decades the business ran as Herzberg's sole proprietorship. In 1999 he transferred all of its assets into a newly founded limited company, "Berco"-Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg GmbH, and became its managing director. Two years later, in 2001, Berco merged with the drug manufacturer Cormontapharm Herstellungs- und Vertriebs GmbH [2]. In June 2005 the regional government in Düsseldorf granted the company a wholesale licence under section 52a of the German Medicines Act for its site on Bahnhofstraße in Kleve, allowing it to operate as a pharmaceutical wholesaler. Gottfried Herzberg died in 2006 at the age of 80. Leadership passed to his son, Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk, and to Heinz Müller, a long-time authorised officer of the firm [2]. The company's own history describes the business it passed on as a pharmaceutical firm rich in tradition. The company celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2024 with a short note on its website: there are firms with 250 years of tradition, it wrote, and measured against them Berco is still young. In 2026 the company marked what it called a triple anniversary, honouring the long service of three shareholders. Heinz Müller reached 50 years with the firm, managing director Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk 35 years, and Stefan Herzberg 30 years [2]. ## Ownership Berco is a privately held family business. Its shareholders are the three long-serving figures named in its company history: Heinz Müller, Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk and Stefan Herzberg. No parent group or outside owner is documented. The company is registered at the district court in Kleve and is legally represented by Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk [6]. ## Philosophy & positioning Berco presents itself first as a health company rather than a beauty brand. Its motto, "Ihre Gesundheit liegt uns am Herzen", translates roughly as "your health is close to our hearts". The company says that for decades it has tried to improve its customers' quality of life through its "specialities", the word it uses for its own products. Quality is described as the firm's top principle. Berco says it concentrates on high-grade ingredients of very high purity that are subject to the strict controls of German manufacturing [1]. It also states that it uses modern, environmentally friendly production methods, which it credits with keeping prices low without cost to customer satisfaction. No concrete environmental targets or third-party certifications are documented. According to Berco, the name has stood for competence and quality since 1959. To keep up with what the market needs, the company says it stays in close contact with doctors, pharmacies, patients and Heilpraktiker, a German term for non-medical practitioners. Distribution runs mainly through pharmacies, backed by direct orders by phone [5]. Beyond its own branded range, Berco says it can supply food supplements and cosmetics in bulk and package them to a customer's specification. ## Products & innovation Cosmetics are a small part of a wider catalogue. The company's range covers medicines, food supplements, cosmetics, sports nutrition, feed for small animals, and an equine care line called Equus. The cosmetics category lists seven products [3]. For the skin there is Anna Barbara Carotin – Creme, a cream named for carotene, and Lamperts Retinol – Creme, a retinol cream that also comes in a fragrance-free version. Dermapur Berco and Cormonta Cosmetics beauty Collagen complete the skincare side. For the hair and scalp, Berco offers two hair tonics: Brennessel Haarwasser Berco, named for stinging nettle, and Spiritus crinalis Haarwasser. Several of these products carry their own sub-brand names, such as Lamperts, Anna Barbara, Cormonta and Spiritus crinalis, rather than the Berco name alone. The product names point to the ingredients the range puts forward: retinol, carotene, nettle and collagen. Next to the cosmetics, a separate supplement category aimed at hair, nails and skin includes Beta-Carotin Plus Berco, Hyaluron Berco, Lamperts Trink-Gelatine (a drinkable gelatine) and evening primrose oil capsules [4]. These are sold as food supplements, not as cosmetics. Because Berco makes both medicines and consumer products, it answers to two regulators. Its medicines fall under the regional government in Düsseldorf, while its food, supplements, cosmetics and animal feed are overseen by the district administration in Kleve [6]. ## Current status Berco is active. Its company history was updated with entries for 2024 and 2026, and it continues to present a full product catalogue online. Customers can order by telephone, and product and price questions are handled through an online contact form. The company is still run from Kleve by members of the Herzberg family and long-serving staff, some 67 years after its founding. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1954 | Gottfried Herzberg and Helmut Funke found the trading firm Berger & Co. in Berlin-Schöneberg (chemical, technical and pharmaceutical products). | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 1959 | "Berco"-Arzneimittel founded by Gottfried Herzberg in Berlin, emerging from Berger & Co.; Herzberg sole owner. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 1970 | Headquarters moved from Berlin to Kleve. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 1999 | Business transferred into the newly founded "Berco"-Arzneimittel Gottfried Herzberg GmbH; Herzberg becomes managing director. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2001 | Merger (Verschmelzung) with drug manufacturer Cormontapharm Herstellungs- und Vertriebs GmbH. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2001 | Merged with drug manufacturer Cormontapharm Herstellungs- und Vertriebs GmbH ("Verschmelzung mit dem Arzneimittel-Hersteller Cormontapharm Herstellungs- und Vertriebs GmbH.") | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2005 | Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf grants wholesale operating licence under § 52a AMG for the Kleve site (2 June 2005). | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2006 | Founder Gottfried Herzberg dies aged 80; company led by his son Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk and long-time Prokurist Heinz Müller. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2024 | 65th company anniversary. | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | | 2026 | Triple service anniversary of shareholders: Heinz Müller (50 years), Jeroen Herzberg-van Dijk (35 years, managing director), Stefan Herzberg (30 years). | https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Brennessel Haarwasser Berco** — Brennessel Haarwasser Berco — https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ - **Dermapur Berco** — Dermapur Berco — https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ - **Lamperts Retinol – Creme (also parfümfrei variant)** — Lamperts Retinol – Creme parfümfrei — https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ - **Anna Barbara Carotin – Creme** — Anna Barbara Carotin – Creme — https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ - **Spiritus crinalis Haarwasser** — Spiritus crinalis Haarwasser — https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Retinol · Carotin · Brennessel (nettle) · Collagen Source: https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/ 2. (T1) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/unternehmen/ 3. (T2) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/kosmetik/ 4. (T2) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/produkt-kategorie/nahrungsergaenzung/haare-naegel-haut/ 5. (T2) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/kontakt/ 6. (T2) https://www.berco-arzneimittel.de/impressum/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-05 Please cite with a link to the article URL.