Cupio

Cupio is a Romanian cosmetics company founded in 2012 in Timișoara by Raluca and Răzvan Ștefănescu, two entrepreneurs who started the business with an initial investment of about €10,000 [1][4]. The company built its name on nail care, and in particular on semi-permanent gel polish, before broadening into a wider beauty range sold mainly through its own stores and website. Its name comes from the Latin cupio, meaning roughly "to desire" or "to aspire."

The brand remains active and trading. Romanian business press reported group revenue of more than 104 million lei, around €21 million, for 2023, and a turnover of about €22.8 million for 2024 [7][8].

Cupio was established in 2012 by Raluca and Răzvan Ștefănescu, who were in their late twenties at the time and based in Timișoara. According to the company, the pair launched with roughly €10,000 in capital and positioned the business around professional cosmetics aimed at both beauty salons and individual customers. The first year closed with 7 employees, 3 stores and a turnover of about €120,000 [4].

Răzvan Ștefănescu later described the early supplier relationships as one of the hardest parts of building the company, while Raluca Ștefănescu characterised the growth as the product of work and personal sacrifice.

From a single-city operation, Cupio expanded across Romania over the following decade. By 2017 the company recorded a turnover of €6.5 million [4]. Group revenue reached roughly €21 million in 2023, supported by a national network of 24 stores [7], and Romanian business outlets reported turnover of about €22.8 million for 2024 alongside continued international expansion.

The company has also extended beyond Romania through authorised distributors in markets including Italy and Germany, and it operates an English-language international site under the cupiocosmetics.com domain.

Cupio describes itself as Romania's leading professional cosmetics brand and reports a catalogue of more than 10,000 products. Its range spans several beauty categories. The brand's own About page lists nail products, makeup, fragrances, skincare, body care, hair care, false lashes, hair removal products and salon equipment, while its homepage frames the core offering more narrowly around nail care, makeup, skincare and salon equipment [1][2]. Nail care is the flagship and most decorated category, followed by makeup and skincare.

The company's signature product is the Cupio The One line of semi-permanent gel polishes, which the brand says combine the ease of a regular nail polish with the durability of a UV gel for up to four to six weeks of wear. Alongside its retail business, Cupio runs a professional training arm, the Cupio Academy, and sells through both physical stores and e-commerce.

On ethics, the company states that its products are cruelty-free and lists sustainability among its core values; it also reports holding ISO 9001:2015 quality certification.

Cupio's brand messaging centres on a concept it calls "Victory Beauty," which the company frames as the idea that beauty is a tool for confidence and authentic self-expression rather than conformity to conventional standards [1]. Its stated mission is to "transform each beauty routine into a personal victory ritual," and the brand defines five core values: authenticity, determination, innovation, inclusion and sustainability [1]. The tagline used by the company, Frumusețea nu e un trend, este ceea ce îți dă încrederea, translates as "beauty is not a trend, it's what gives you confidence."

Cupio has received several Romanian industry awards. It was named best online health and beauty store at the GPeC e-commerce awards in 2020, ranked the number one nail and manicure brand by Market Vector in 2019, and recognised for best social media presence at GPeC in 2016 [1].

A 2024 brand-awareness study by the market research firm MKOR Consulting found that Cupio is the most recognised semi-permanent nail polish brand in Romania. According to the study, the brand is the first that comes to mind for one in five Romanians in that category, and nine out of ten people familiar with it said they would choose its products [5].

Cupio is an actively trading company. Romanian business press reported turnover of about €22.8 million for 2024, and the brand continues to operate a national store network alongside its export distribution within the European Union [8].