# Pigmentan ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1895 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Hanau | | Status | Active | | Previous names | Obermeyer & Co. | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.pigmentan.de/ | Pigmentan is a German sun-care brand based in Hanau, Germany. It traces its roots to Obermeyer & Co., a Hanau firm that, according to the company, has made soaps and cosmetics since 1895, and it has sold sun protection under the Pigmentan name since 1920 [1]. Its best-known products are two sunscreens, Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8 and Sunalpin SPF 30. The brand is active and is sold mainly through drugstores, supermarkets and pharmacies. Today the Pigmentan trademarks belong to a group of personal-care trademarks managed from the same Hanau address, and the brand presents itself above all through its long history. ## Origin & founders The company gives two starting points, and which one counts as the founding depends on definition. Its homepage says that Pigmentan, "formerly Obermeyer & Co.", has produced soaps and cosmetics since 1895, and that Pigmentan sun protection products have been made since 1920 [1]. Its company page dates the founding of Obermeyer & Co. itself to 1895 [2]. This article follows 1895 as the founding year of the business, with 1920 as the start of Pigmentan-branded sun care. The founders of Obermeyer & Co. are not named in any available source. ## History & milestones Little of the company's early history is told in writing. A "Nostalgie" page on the brand's website instead shows Herba and Pigmentan products, together with their prices, from the years 1935 to 1950 [3]. The next documented turning point came in 1985. In that year, the company says, Obermeyer & Co. (Pigmentan) of Hanau was taken over and its products were folded into a new distribution business [2]. The page does not name the buyer. More recently, the company reported that Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8 had been given an updated formula and a new closure. The undated news item describes the new version as balanced between UVA and UVB protection, compliant with EU rules and free of parabens [6]. ## Ownership According to the brand's website, all Pigmentan trademarks are held by "Pigmentan Jürgen Langnickel" [2]. The website itself is run by Halajot Einkaufs OHG, based at Kronprinzenstraße 1 in Hanau, which also names itself as the site's data controller [5]. The legal imprint lists Jürgen Langnickel at the same address [4]. A different account appears in an independent product listing. The German test aggregator testberichte.de names "Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co. KG Arzneimittel" as the manufacturer of Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8 [9]. The brand's own pages do not mention Dr. August Wolff, and no further source confirms that link, so the relationship between the two companies remains unclear. The same Hanau business also markets a number of other trademarks alongside Pigmentan. They include the body-care lines Herba Kamille, Mondana, Mondana Olicut and Florida, the pharmacy-only line Parvulan, the cotton-product brand Vilja, and the sun-care names Sunalpin and Sunsoft [2]. Sunalpin is sold as "Pigmentan Sunalpin". ## Philosophy & positioning Pigmentan describes its business under the heading "Tradition verpflichtet", roughly "tradition obliges". The company says that every product it still sells has been kept in line with current science while staying true to its long-established base formulas [1]. Its website carries the tagline "Schönheit & Gesundheit" ("beauty and health") and lists its business areas as cosmetics, hygiene and pharmacy products. Pigmentan is positioned as a drugstore brand. According to Pigmentan, its products can be found in most drugstores, in well-stocked supermarkets and in the drugstore sections of department stores, as well as through Amazon and wholesale outlets [8]. The company adds that pharmacies can order its entire range, and it also runs its own web shop. ## Products & innovation The range centres on sunscreen. Testberichte.de describes Pigmentan as offering two sun creams: Gipfel-Bräune with SPF 8 and Sunalpin with SPF 30 [9]. Gipfel-Bräune, whose name translates roughly as "summit tan", is the lower-protection cream that the company reformulated without parabens. Pigmentan puts weight on titanium dioxide, a white mineral pigment that sits on the skin and reflects sunlight and UV rays. The company says these pigments start working as soon as the cream is applied [1]. It also notes that all manufacturers rely on titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to reach sun protection factors above 15. Sunalpin SPF 30, by the brand's account, combines chemical filters with these physical, mineral ones. The website further states, with an asterisked qualification, that the company's products are free of nano-sized additives. No third-party certifications are documented for the brand. ## Current status Pigmentan is active. Its website remains online with a working web shop and a list of retail channels, although the news items it publishes carry no dates. No recent dated product launch is documented. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1895 | Obermeyer & Co. founded in Hanau; begins producing soaps and cosmetics | https://www.pigmentan.de/ | | 1920 | Production of Pigmentan sun protection products begins | https://www.pigmentan.de/ | | 1985 | Obermeyer & Co. (Pigmentan), Hanau, taken over and its products integrated into distribution (acquirer not named on the page) | https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=unternehmen3 | | 1985 | Obermeyer & Co. (Pigmentan) of Hanau taken over and products integrated into distribution; acquirer not explicitly named (page is published by the site operator Halajot / trademark holder Pigmentan Jürgen Langnickel) | https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=unternehmen3 | | — | Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8 reformulated (UVA/UVB balance, EU-compliant, paraben-free) with a new closure; news item undated | https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=news2 | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Pigmentan Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8** — Gipfel-Bräune SPF 8 optimierte Rezeptur-neuer Verschluss — https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=news2 - **Pigmentan Sunalpin SPF 30** — Das Produkt Sunalpin SPF 30 nutzt eine Kombination aus chemischen und physikalischen Schutzfiltern. — https://www.pigmentan.de/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} titanium dioxide (Titandioxid) Source: https://www.pigmentan.de/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **testberichte.de** — Product report on Pigmentan Gipfel-Bräune LSF 8: aggregated grade 1,4 (Sehr gut) from 152 customer opinions; notes Pigmentan offers two sunscreens (LSF 8 and Sunalpin LSF 30) in green-yellow retro packaging; price range 8,99-11,80 Euro (Stand November 2015). Test aggregator, not A-tier editorial. — https://www.testberichte.de/p/pigmentan-tests/gipfel-braeune-lsf-8-testbericht.html ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.pigmentan.de/ 2. (T1) https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=unternehmen3 3. (T2) https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=nostalgie 4. (T2) https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=impressum2 5. (T2) http://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=95 6. (T2) https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=news2 8. (T2) https://www.pigmentan.de/index.php?id=bezugsquellen 9. (T4) https://www.testberichte.de/p/pigmentan-tests/gipfel-braeune-lsf-8-testbericht.html --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-06 Please cite with a link to the article URL.