Martiderm

MartiDerm is a Spanish dermocosmetic skincare company founded in Barcelona in 1952 by the pharmacist Josep Martí Tor [2]. It is best known for ultra-concentrated serums sold in single-dose ampoules, a format the company built its reputation on and still treats as its signature product. The brand is owned by MartiDerm Group, an umbrella company based in Cervelló, just outside Barcelona, and it remains active and trading, with live e-commerce across several country markets and distribution in more than 45 countries.

The business traces its scientific identity to a pharmacist's bench rather than a marketing department. Martí Tor worked alongside dermatologists of his time to develop compounding formulas — preparations mixed to order — for complex skin conditions, and that pharmacy heritage still frames how the company describes itself.

Josep Martí Tor came from a family rooted in pharmacy and opened a small pharmacy at Calle Aragón 395 in Barcelona in 1952. From the start the work leaned scientific: he collaborated with leading Spanish dermatologists to formulate treatments for difficult skin conditions, an approach French Wikipedia describes as developed "with the leading dermatologists of Spain" [8].

The defining product came decades later. In 1989, Martí Tor created a dermocosmetic ampoule combining proteoglycans and pure vitamin C, intended to help regenerate skin after chemical peels [2]. The formula was sealed in topaz-coloured glass under an inert atmosphere to shield the vitamin C from light and air. This ampoule became the foundation of the modern brand. One date is presented loosely on the brand's own homepage, which credits the innovation to roughly "30 years ago" — placing it around 1992 to 1994 [1] — but the corporate history, the company's own Formula page, French Wikipedia and independent retailer profiles all record 1989.

A second milestone reshaped the company in 1997, when the second family generation founded the Laboratorio Dermocosmético MartiDerm and adopted MartiDerm as the company's current name [2]. The laboratory began in a modest space near the original pharmacy before expanding to larger facilities in the Parc Empresarial de Cervelló.

Other recorded steps include the 1975 introduction of allergens for diagnosing contact dermatitis [8], an ISO quality certificate in 2013, and the 2021 launch of (Re)Herm, a line aimed at a younger, Gen Z audience.

MartiDerm operates as the flagship brand of MartiDerm Group, headquartered in Cervelló, Barcelona. The group describes a portfolio of six brands and more than 150 products, among them B.Med, MartiTor Alergia, Driosec (a medical device for excessive sweating) and Boí Thermal, a thermal spring water brand it acquired in 2018 [2]. The company reports manufacturing in-house at a production facility exceeding 2,700 square metres in Cervelló.

The brand's reach is unusually wide for a pharmacy label. The corporate site states roughly 83,000 ampoules are sold daily [2], while more recent retailer reporting puts worldwide consumption at about 180,000 a day [10]; an older French Wikipedia figure cites more than 50,000 [8]. The differences appear to reflect how recent each count is rather than a dispute over a single number.

The company markets its outlook as "Smart Aging," a stance it frames not as fighting time but supporting it. As MartiDerm puts it, "it's not about fighting time; it's about accepting it, turning the years into healthy skincare routines." That positioning sits on a pharmaceutical foundation, and transparency is a recurring theme: the brand says its "products do what they say and say what they do."

Its stated pillars are safe and effective products, research and innovation, trusted branding and sustainability. The audience it describes is twofold — skincare-focused consumers and professional dermatologists looking for high-concentration active formulas.

Ampoules remain the centre of the range. The company positions itself as the "No. 1 brand in anti-aging serums" and groups its products into ranges such as The Originals, Black Diamond, Pigment Zero, Platinum and Hair System. Hero actives across the line include proteoglycans, pure vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, prebiotics and a proprietary ingredient the brand calls Proteum 89+.

Among the products most often singled out are The Originals Flash Ampoules, described by the retailer Care to Beauty as its best-selling MartiDerm product [9], the Proteos hydration ampoules, the DSP-Bright depigmentation ampoules in the Pigment Zero range, and the Hair System 3GF anti-hair-loss lotion. Several products carry specific efficacy figures from the brand, such as "up to 52% wrinkle reduction" for Skin Complex Advanced and "98% antioxidant efficacy" for one of the Proteos formulas.

The signature topaz-glass ampoule is as much a technical claim as a packaging choice: the company says the inert-atmosphere container protects the formula from light and air and prevents oxidation of the pure vitamin C. Research is centred on what the brand calls its Smart Aging HUB, an in-house centre where, in its description, it works to "solve, research, create and produce" formulations across skin types. The historical collaboration with Spanish dermatologists is presented as the origin of this scientific approach.

Awards cited by the company include the GEDEFAF National Compounding Formula Award in 2023, given to Elisa Suñer for a compounding formula [3]. In editorial coverage, the beauty retailer Care to Beauty has described MartiDerm as "a beacon of skincare innovation" and "a favorite of dermatologists and consumers alike" [9]. No major English-language beauty-press coverage was found; the brand's editorial footprint is concentrated in European dermo-cosmetic retail and French-language references.

The company has moved on packaging and energy over the past decade. According to MartiDerm, it has used FSC-certified packaging since 2018 and introduced compostable ampoule packaging in 2021 that "cut fossil-based plastic by over 80%" [5]. It also states that it runs on 100% renewable energy and holds an EcoVadis Bronze Medal for sustainability and transparency across its value chain.

MartiDerm is an active, scaling brand. It operates live e-commerce across multiple country sites — including Spain, Mexico, France, Portugal and Italy — distributes in more than 45 countries, and its most recent cited recognition dates to 2023.