Natura Siberica

Natura Siberica is a Russian organic-cosmetics company headquartered in Moscow, founded by Andrey Trubnikov [6]. It makes natural face, hair and body care from wild-harvested herbs and plants of Siberia and the Russian Far East, and describes itself as the first company to develop organic cosmetics from those northern botanicals. Sources differ slightly on its starting date: Wikipedia, a founder interview and the business press place the founding in 2008 [6], while a brand-supplied distributor page gives 2007 [7].

Since May 2023 the company has been owned by the Russian conglomerate AFK Sistema, which acquired it after a turbulent succession dispute that followed the founder's death in 2021 [11]. The brand itself remains operational and continues to export internationally.

Natura Siberica was the creation of Andrey Trubnikov, an entrepreneur who drew on his Siberian background to build the business. By his own account, he started the company after a rejected job application to Procter & Gamble in the aftermath of Russia's 1998 financial crisis; told he had performed poorly on the firm's testing, he set out on his own instead [8].

The brand's central premise is that plants surviving the extreme conditions of the Far North develop unusual potency. The company points to a winter range reaching far below freezing and short, intense summers, arguing that herbs adapted to such stress carry richer concentrations of active compounds. Trubnikov framed his approach as the opposite of the large corporate model, telling one interviewer that creativity could not be fully fitted into a management system [8].

After its late-2000s launch, Natura Siberica moved to secure its own raw materials. In 2013 it established a wild-harvesting organic farm, which the company describes as the first and largest organic farm certified to the European bio standard EU 834/07; the 33-hectare site, partly cultivated with rare herb species, was developed with local farmers [3]. The same period marked the start of international expansion.

In 2014 the company set up Eurobio Lab OÜ in Tallinn, Estonia, as a European manufacturing arm intended to meet international organic standards [12]. By 2017 it operated roughly 70 of its own stores and sold in more than 40 countries; by 2019 its range had grown to around 200 products across skin, hair, body and makeup.

Two events then disrupted the company. On 21 May 2020 a major fire destroyed its Dmitrovsky pilot plant, and in September 2021 a Moscow region arbitration court ordered Natura Siberica to pay roughly 2.9 billion roubles in related damages [6]. More consequentially, founder Andrey Trubnikov died intestate on 7 January 2021, leaving no will and setting off a contest over control of the business [6].

Trubnikov's death triggered an extended ownership dispute. His controlling stake was placed under trust and crisis management, while his first wife and co-founder, Irina Trubnikova, held a minority share. The conflict drew unusual public attention. In August 2021, staff published an open letter alleging what they called a crude raider takeover of the company, announced a strike, and said key personnel had been blocked from offices and databases [9]. Shortly afterwards Trubnikova regained control of company assets, and on 1 September 2021 the company halted production and sales of several trademarks and closed about 80 retail stores after a related licensing company terminated its contracts [6].

The dispute was resolved through acquisition. In May 2023 AFK Sistema purchased 100% of JSC Organic Rus, the holding company that owns Natura Siberica and certain other Russian businesses, consolidating control and ending the inheritance disputes [11]. Reporting on the deal noted that the wider group also markets brands including Organic Shop, Planeta Organica and "Recipes of Grandma Agafya".

The company positions itself as a "farm-to-face" brand that has controlled its own supply chain for over a decade, turning what it calls Siberian beauty traditions into a natural care range. Its stated mission is to sustain the qualities of the region's herbs, flowers and people. Alongside its product claims, Natura Siberica emphasises support for Siberian indigenous communities: it says its sourcing practices help sustain the livelihoods of indigenous tribes spanning some 40 ethnic groups, and that it works with the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North on cultural preservation.

On ethics, the company states it has been cruelty-free "from our very beginning, now and always", adds that it does not sell in mainland China, and frames its outlook around respect for nature [4]. The cruelty-free page does not list third-party certifications such as Leaping Bunny.

Natura Siberica's products are built around wild Siberian botanicals. Recurring hero ingredients include Altai sea buckthorn (known as Oblepikha), Rhodiola rosea, Siberian pine, Arctic cloudberry, snow cladonia and Siberian ginseng, each promoted for properties the company links to survival in a harsh climate. Among its named ranges are the C-Berrica vitamin-C line and Oblepikha Professional, both built on sea buckthorn.

The company's signature technical claim is its use of "cryoextracts" — an extraction method carried out at ultra-low temperatures that, it says, preserves the bioactive compounds of these resilient plants. It also describes research-linked commitments, including a 2013 partnership with the Irkutsk Botanic Garden under which it pledged to plant 70,000 rare plants by 2018.

Natura Siberica is active. As of mid-2026 its UK e-commerce site was operating and running a promotion, and the brand reports being sold in around 45 countries [1]. Its ownership, however, has changed: following the contested succession after Trubnikov's death, the company has been a subsidiary of AFK Sistema since the May 2023 acquisition.