ProntoMan

ProntoMan is a German foot-care brand owned by Prontomed GmbH, a manufacturer of medical, cosmetic and hygiene products based in Hiddenhausen. The brand was launched in 2007 [7] and is aimed primarily at podiatrists and professional foot-care practitioners, although its sprays, creams, gels and foams are also sold through pharmacies.

Its products draw on the two technologies the parent company specialises in: polyhexanide, an antibacterial agent also known as PHMB, and so-called ECA technology. The range covers callus softening, everyday care for dry and stressed skin, and hygiene products intended to protect feet, nails and shoes against fungal infection.

ProntoMan did not begin as a stand-alone company. It was created as an in-house brand of Prontomed GmbH, which was founded on 2 November 1998 and is run by managing director Jörn Gahrig [7]. No individual founder of the brand itself is named.

Two dates therefore circulate for the brand. The ProntoMan website says the company behind it has developed, made and marketed medical, cosmetic and hygiene products "since 1998" [1], a date that refers to Prontomed. The parent company's press page dates the market launch of ProntoMan itself to 2007, when it was introduced alongside Prontolind, a piercing-care line [7]. This article follows 2007 as the brand's founding year; the copyright line on the brand's website, which runs from 2007, is consistent with that date.

Prontomed's press page lists the launch of Prontosan D in 1999, followed in 2007 by ProntoMan and Prontolind, and in 2014 by a skin-care range under the Prontomed name. ProntoMan sits within a small family of own brands that also includes ProntoCare-Vet, Equinoline and Sanaveo.

Much of the brand's visible history has played out in the podiatry trade rather than in consumer media. The ProntoMan blog, with posts going back to 2013, documents trade fairs, training sessions and expert interviews on nail fungus, ingrown toenails and calluses. In January 2017 the brand held a training event in Leipzig attended by more than 50 podiatrists, and in March of the same year it ran its first session in Bavaria, in Munich, for around 30 podiatrists and foot-care professionals [2]. In October 2018 ProntoMan exhibited at the 24th FUSS trade fair in Kassel, a German event for the foot-care profession.

The most recent dated post on the blog appeared in January 2020. It recommended a new congress called "Podo meets Wellness", which combined seminars for podiatrists with wellness treatments and offered participants professional training credits.

ProntoMan is owned by Prontomed GmbH of Hiddenhausen, Germany [1]. The company describes itself as a certified business that develops, manufactures and sells products for hospitals, medical practices, podiatry, beauty and home care. It presents itself as one of the leading companies worldwide in polyhexanide technology, and its homepage names PHMB (polyhexanide betaine) and ECA technology as its two core technology platforms [8].

ProntoMan's closest sister brands are Prontolind, which Prontomed promotes as a piercing-care line, and the Prontomed skin-care range. No acquisitions or changes of ownership are documented.

ProntoMan presents itself as a specialist for the professional foot-care practice. Its tagline, "Gut zu(m) Fuß", is a German play on words that combines "good on foot" with "good for the foot". The website says the range has been used successfully by many podiatrists and foot-care specialists for years, and the brand describes its aim as bringing clinical know-how into the practice.

A dedicated area of the website for professional users offers treatment videos and photos, a partner programme, an online shop for practices and a calendar of trade fairs and events. Alongside this, the brand runs an information section on foot fungus, nail fungus, calluses and diabetic foot syndrome, a condition associated with type 2 diabetes.

The values highlighted on the parent company's homepage are freedom from animal testing, skin compatibility as a first priority, and responsibility for the environment and climate [8]. These are the company's own statements; no third-party certifications are documented, and no concrete sustainability targets are given.

According to the company's answers to common questions, the products are available in podiatry and foot-care practices, through pharmacies and via the parent company's own online shop [5].

The range is small and focused. Its best-known item is ProntoMan Spray, which cleans skin and nails and is used to soften calluses. The company calls it the most successful physically acting callus softener on the market [1]. According to ProntoMan, the spray works physically, so that only dead skin cells flake away during treatment. A larger "Praxisware" version of the spray is sold for use in clinics.

ProntoMan Spezialcreme is an intensive cream for dry, heavily stressed skin, built around rice germ oil and 5 percent urea, a common moisturising ingredient. The brand describes it as suitable for people with diabetes. A foam, ProntoMan Pflegeschaum, is intended for regular skin care and, according to the brand, suits wearers of compression or support stockings because it does not leave an oily film. ProntoMan Hydrogel is designed for problem areas such as the foot and nail bed and is preserved with PHMB, which gives it antibacterial properties.

A separate PROTECT line targets fungal infections. PROTECT Nagel is a ready-to-use mineral spray gel for nails prone to fungus, based on ECA technology. PROTECT Fuß is a hygiene spray meant to guard against athlete's foot, and PROTECT Schuh is a spray for the inside of shoes. The company says the shoe spray eliminates 99.9 percent of relevant bacteria, fungi and viruses, which reduces odour [1].

ProntoMan makes several further claims about its formulas. It states that all of its products act antibacterially and help prevent infection, that its formula has been clinically proven millions of times, and that the products have been tested according to the guidelines of the VAH, the German association for applied hygiene. It also cites a "very good" skin-compatibility rating from independent testing institutes under the Dermatest label [1]. These ratings are reported by the brand itself.

No awards are documented for ProntoMan, and independent editorial coverage of the brand is sparse. When the German consumer-testing magazine Öko-Test reviewed 20 callus and corn treatments, its test covered brands such as Hansaplast, Scholl, Gehwol, Compeed and Kneipp, and did not include ProntoMan [9].

ProntoMan is active. Its products are still presented on the brand's website and on the homepage of its parent company, and the brand website's copyright line runs to 2024 [1]. The brand's own news output has been quiet for longer: the last dated blog post was published in January 2020. Its communication is German-language, and no international distribution is stated.