KREAM

KREAM is a Spanish sun-care and tanning brand based in Barcelona, founded in 2021 by three friends in their thirties [11]. Trading under the legal name KREAM JJB, S.L., the company makes tan accelerators, sun protection, after-sun products and a small range of hair and face care, and it positions sun care as something playful rather than a clinical routine. The brand remains active, selling online and through pharmacies, hotels and beach clubs.

Its guiding idea is summed up in the line "From Barcelona to the Sun" and a stated wish to "demystify" the notion that looking after the skin is boring. KREAM aims its products at a young, Mediterranean-minded audience that wants a tan without giving up on protection, and much of its early growth came through social media and influencer word of mouth.

KREAM was started by Borja Blasco, Joan Faura and Jordi Martínez, three thirty-something friends who, according to Spanish business press, came up with the idea during the pandemic of building a brand that could disrupt the sunscreen market [11]. The three founders are the "JJB" in the registered company name KREAM JJB, S.L., a Spanish entity headquartered at a co-working address on Carrer Riera de Sant Miquel in Barcelona.

Sources differ slightly on when the brand began. KREAM's own brand page states "BORN IN 2021," a date echoed by The New Barcelona Post and the trade publication HIGHXTAR [2][11]. The Catalonia Startup Hub, a regional government registry, instead lists 2020 [8] — most likely the company-registration date, since the same registry logs an initial funding round of €200,000 in April 2021, matching the founders' own seed reported elsewhere. This article follows the brand's stated 2021 founding, noting the 2020 registry entry.

Alongside the founders, editorial coverage names an operational team: Alex Rodés as chief executive and Gemma Pinto as PR and brand manager [9]. These are hired roles rather than a competing account of who founded the company; Jordi Martínez is described as a partner connected to the Arual cosmetics family.

KREAM frames sun care as a moment of "fun, good vibes" rather than a chore. The company's stated mission is to "demystify" the idea that taking care of the skin is dull and turn it into something enjoyable, an approach it describes as "fun but serious." Local Spanish production, social responsibility and environmental care sit among the values the brand lists for itself.

That positioning is what third-party editorial tends to single out. The German beauty retailer Beauty.camp writes that sun care "doesn't have to be boring," describing KREAM as a youth-oriented, Mediterranean lifestyle brand that differs from classic sun protection by combining "fun, effectiveness, care and environmental awareness" instead of a clinical look. The audience the brand targets is, in Beauty.camp's words, "anyone who loves a tan but doesn't want to compromise on skin care and protection" [10].

The brand's hero product is Bloody Mary, a cream-lotion the company describes as intensifying melanin production for a quick, intense and long-lasting tan. A later variant, Glowy Mary, is presented as "Bloody Mary 2.0" with an added glow effect. The wider catalogue includes sunscreen sprays and sticks in SPF 30 and SPF 50, tanning oils, after-sun care, a biphasic hair conditioner called Bahama Mama, a multifunctional oil named Golden Fizz, and Bloody Mary Pills, a food supplement [9]. By 2023 the line comprised roughly six products across about twenty references, priced in the €15–25 range [11].

KREAM attributes Bloody Mary's effect to a handful of active ingredients, among them acetyl tyrosine (described as stimulating melanin production), lactic acid as a gentle exfoliant, and riboflavin, or vitamin B2, linked to melanin-related metabolic processes, alongside glycerin and lanolin. The brand advertises a tan "up to 6 times faster," a marketing claim rather than one backed by a published clinical study in the available sources. No proprietary or trademarked technology is named.

KREAM describes its products as "eco-friendly and cruelty free," and says it does not test on animals. Its vegan claim is hedged: the company states that "most" of its products are suitable for vegans and directs customers to individual product sheets for details. According to the brand, all KREAM products are developed and manufactured in Spain in laboratories with more than 70 years of experience — a reference to its contract manufacturer rather than the age of the brand itself. HIGHXTAR adds that the products are free of nanoparticles that could harm the ocean [9]. No formal third-party certification, such as the Vegan Society, Leaping Bunny or B Corp, is cited in the available sources despite the vegan and cruelty-free claims.

KREAM has drawn coverage from the Spanish press. HIGHXTAR published an editorial profile in May 2024 covering Bloody Mary, the Bloody Mary Pills and Golden Fizz [9], while The New Barcelona Post reported on the brand's funding in 2023 [11]. The brand's homepage also displays several unnamed media logos indicating further press. Among its endorsements, the Spanish influencer Laura Escanes is named as a supporter whose word of mouth contributed to KREAM's reach among younger consumers.

KREAM remains an active, independently run brand with no disclosed parent company. It continues to publish product-focused articles on its online magazine and maintains accounts on Instagram and TikTok under the handle @kream.fun. Spain is its primary market, where the company reports distribution through more than 1,500 pharmacies in addition to hotels and beach clubs; around 60% of revenue is said to come from online sales via its own store and Amazon [11].

The company has been backed by modest funding: an initial €200,000 seed from the founders and a further €400,000 raised in 2023 from friends-and-family backers and private Barcelona investors [11]. It reported revenue of €200,000 in 2022 and expected to reach around €1 million in 2023. Beyond Spain, KREAM has begun expanding internationally, including into the Nordic market, with stated ambitions toward Latin America and the Middle East.