Labello

Labello is a German lip-care brand created in 1909 by Dr. Oscar Troplowitz at the Hamburg skin-care company Beiersdorf [8][3]. Its name comes from the Latin words labium ("lip") and bellus ("beautiful"). The brand launched its first balm in a sliding metal case and was introduced across Germany, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary, going on to become a fixture of European drugstore shelves and, by the brand's own account, the most widely used lip-care product in the world.

Labello remains an active, globally sold brand within the Beiersdorf portfolio, where it sits alongside Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie and Chantecaille [2][9]. The company points to a 2023 Euromonitor International assessment naming it the world's No. 1 lip-care company, and the balm has more recently found a second life through viral lip-care trends on social media.

The brand traces to a single innovation by Dr. Oscar Troplowitz, who developed a caring lip balm at Beiersdorf in 1909 [8]. According to Labello, the product was introduced two years after Troplowitz first devised the formula, reaching Germany, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. Beiersdorf itself describes the launch as one that "revolutionized the market in every respect," with a "practical, never-before-seen sliding case" and a metal sleeve covering the stick.

It is worth distinguishing the brand from its maker: Beiersdorf, the parent company, was founded in 1882 by the pharmacist Paul C. Beiersdorf in Hamburg, where it remains headquartered [9]. The 1909 Labello launch was one of the firm's earliest extensions beyond its original adhesive-plaster business. The two dates are sometimes conflated, but every source — the brand site, Beiersdorf's own milestones, and Wikipedia — places the Labello brand's start at 1909 [8][4].

Labello's early decades were defined largely by its packaging. The balm first appeared in a slider tin case in 1911, from which the stick was pushed up at the base. Through the 1920s the tin gave way to a lighter aluminium case, and by the 1930s the product was being marketed in more than thirty countries. Post-war aluminium shortages prompted another redesign, and in 1953 the metal case was replaced by white plastic.

A turning point came in 1963, when the brand added a twist mechanism that made application easier. Wikipedia records this as "the most successful product launch in the history of the Labello brand" [8]. A decade later, in 1973, Labello first appeared in the classic blue casing that the company regards as its enduring visual signature. The brand marked its centennial in 2009, framing the milestone as "100 years of experience" in lip care.

Labello has been a Beiersdorf brand since its creation; it was developed in-house rather than acquired. Beiersdorf AG is an international skin-care company based in Hamburg, and Labello forms part of a portfolio that also includes Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie and Chantecaille [2][9]. The balm is produced by Beiersdorf in Germany and Austria, and has at various times also been sold under the names Labello Nivea, Liposan and Nivea Lip Care [8].

Labello organises its public messaging around what it calls four core pillars: Nature, Efficacy, Joy and Sustainability. The company sums up its approach with the tagline "We love efficacy and we love nature," and states that its mission is "to create the most effective and natural lip products all in one." It describes its aim as helping people achieve "the most beautiful, healthy-looking, and kissable lips possible." The brand says its Original balm consists of natural and natural-origin ingredients up to 100 percent.

The brand's range spans plain care, tinted and coloured balms, flavoured variants, scrubs and lip oils, with the long-running Original Care positioned as its bestseller. Other lines include Hyaluron Care, the tinted Caring Beauty shades, Med Repair, Sun Protection and a men's range. Across these, the company highlights hero ingredients such as shea butter, sunflower oil and castor oil, describing sunflower oil as coating the lips with "a thin film that seals the water in" and castor oil as building a protective film that helps the healing of cracked lips. Newer formulas add hyaluronic acid and rosehip oil.

On ethics, Labello says it operates "without animal testing" and claims more than 35 years of experience among what it calls the global leaders in alternative test methods. The company states that its fruity range is vegan and free of animal-derived ingredients. On sustainability, it reports sourcing shea butter ethically as a member of the Global Shea Alliance — buying "fairly and directly from farmers in West Africa" — and says its outer packaging is made of recycled paper, eliminating plastic blisters.

Labello cites Euromonitor International's 2023 assessment naming it the world's No. 1 lip-care company [5]. In the 2020s the brand has also been associated with viral lip-care trends on TikTok, where users share lip-care routines and trending Labello variants; the company maintains an official account on the platform [10].

Labello is a fully active, globally sold brand. It continues to launch new products, including its Hyaluron and lip-oil ranges, and maintains an active presence on social media. Its most recent notable milestone is the 2023 Euromonitor ranking [5], and it remains one of Beiersdorf's major consumer brands.