Nui Cosmetics

Nui Cosmetics is a natural- and vegan-cosmetics brand based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 2016 by Swantje van Uehm [4], who set out to make natural makeup that performed as well as it read on an ingredient list. The company pairs plant-based, vegan formulations with high-pigment colour cosmetics, and has since broadened into skincare, hair, body and nail products sold directly through its own webshop.

The brand takes its name from the Polynesian word "nui," used in Hawaiian and Maori to mean big or significant. In keeping with that idea, individual products carry Polynesian names rather than numbers, and the company frames its outlook around "Das Wesentliche" — the essential — under the tagline "Be you. Be NUI."

Before starting the brand, van Uehm worked in product management for luxury and natural-cosmetics labels. She has described the natural makeup then on the market as unappealing — "pale colours, crumbly creams, musty scents" — and, unable to find a vibrant red lipstick that was both vegan and natural, developed one herself [3]. That red lipstick became the company's first product and the starting point for the wider line.

Nui Cosmetics describes its aim as blurring the line between skincare and makeup, offering colour cosmetics alongside cleansers, serums and facial oils. The catalogue spans foundation, concealer, powder, blush, mascara, eyeshadow and lip products, together with shampoo, conditioner, hand cream, deodorant and nail polish. Signature items include the PANGO mascara, the MAWHERO blush, the AROHA lipstick and a multi-use Cream Blush 3in1. The company points to ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, organic apple juice, marigold (calendula) extract and plant oils used in place of silicones.

Positioning centres on vegan, natural formulation without compromising performance. According to the company, every Nui product is vegan "without exception, without an asterisk," and it says it rejects animal testing beyond the EU legal minimum. The brand also emphasises everyday, consistent choices around packaging, materials and suppliers rather than sweeping sustainability promises, and describes its packaging as eco-friendly and produced regionally in Berlin.

In 2020 the brand appeared on the German television investment show Die Höhle der Löwen (the German equivalent of Shark Tank), in Season 8, Episode 8, broadcast on 19 October 2020. Founder van Uehm sought 250,000 euros in exchange for 20 percent of the company. The show's official page lists the deal outcome as unknown, with no confirmed on-air agreement [4]. A separate search-engine summary later claimed that investor Judith Williams offered 250,000 euros for 40 percent and that the founder accepted [6]; that account is unverified and conflicts with the official record, which states a 20 percent stake was sought and the outcome left open.

Nui Cosmetics was founded and led by Swantje van Uehm. According to the brand's About page, Julia Näder became chief executive and took over ownership of the company around 2025 [2]. Näder has framed her motivation as reaching beyond cosmetics toward a more responsible way of making and sourcing products.

The company remains active, operating a live direct-to-consumer webshop with a current, broad catalogue and stating a customer base of more than 100,000. Sources differ slightly on its age: two editorial profiles give a founding year of 2016 [4], while the brand's own About page describes the company as having started "over ten years ago" [2] — a looser figure broadly consistent with the earlier date.