Valquer

Valquer is a Spanish cosmetics laboratory and manufacturer founded in 1975, specialising in professional haircare and dermocosmetics. It remains a family-owned business, now run by its second generation, with 100% Spanish capital and its main factory in Villaminaya, a small town in the province of Toledo [1]. The company develops and produces its own lines while also manufacturing on a private-label basis for salons, pharmacies and other cosmetics brands.

Operating under the tagline "Dermocosmética Natural y Sostenible" (Natural and Sustainable Dermocosmetics), Valquer describes itself as a maker of effective, vegan, natural and sustainable products [2], and reports a presence in more than 65 countries, with offices in the United Kingdom and Mexico and a dedicated distribution arm for the United States.

Valquer was established in 1975 as a family laboratory producing cosmetics — creams and shampoos — for hairdressing salons [3]. The company's own blog credits its founding to Manuel Cerrillo Arrebola, who led the laboratory alongside his wife, Concepción García-Ochoa García [4]. Spanish regional press covering the firm's history names the same couple as founders [3]. A separate, unattributed account instead traces the 1975 origin to Eugenio Querencia, then president of the Association of Hairdressers of Madrid, who is said to have begun making hair products in a family garage; this version is not corroborated by the brand's own sources or by the press coverage, and Valquer itself attributes the founding to Manuel Cerrillo [4].

Accounts of the precise starting location also differ slightly. Regional press describes the origin as a "Madrid garage" in 1975 [3], while the company blog places the early laboratory in Valdilechas, in the Madrid area, before it later moved to Arganda del Rey. The business was established as Laboratorios Válquer, S.A. in 1985.

From its beginnings near Madrid, the operation grew over the following decades. In 2006, founder Manuel Cerrillo handed general management of the laboratories to his son, José Luis Cerrillo García-Ochoa, marking the transition to the second generation [4]. In 2010, the company relocated its headquarters and factory to Villaminaya, Toledo, where its manufacturing is now concentrated [3].

Today the site spans more than 16,000 square metres of production and laboratory space on a larger parcel of land, and the company reports a portfolio of over 600 formulations and more than 1,000 product references. In July 2025, Valquer marked its 50th anniversary with an event attended by officials from the Castilla-La Mancha regional government [5].

Valquer's core business is haircare, alongside skincare and body-care ranges. Its catalogue spans shampoos, colorants, treatments and serums, facial hydration and cleansing lines, and specialised salon products including hair dyeing, bleaching and perms. The company also produces solid, waterless formats — solid shampoos, gels and facial products — as part of a sustainability-oriented range, and maintains lines for pets and sport.

The company positions itself in the professional and dermocosmetic space, developing products for the salon, pharmacy, aesthetics and perfumery sectors, and operating both as a direct manufacturer of its own brand and as a private-label producer for third parties. It emphasises sulfate-free formulations and, according to the company, cosmetics that are vegan, natural and sustainable [2]. Retailer descriptions repeat a brand-originated claim that Valquer was among the first to popularise professional solid shampoos [6]; this is stated by the company and its sellers rather than independently established.

Valquer frames its work around a combination of science, innovation and sustainability. In its own words, the company has been "developing and manufacturing highly effective, top-quality cosmetics in Spain, combining science, innovation, and sustainability" since 1975 [2]. Its stated mission is to innovate high-value vegan and pharmaceutical cosmetics while making its clients' businesses more profitable. The sustainability focus centres on effective formulas and on solid, waterless product lines intended to reduce packaging and water use.

The company has received regional business recognition in Spain, including a "Family Business" award in 2019 and a "Company of the Year" award in 2020. Its 2025 anniversary drew regional press coverage that described the firm as a national and international reference in cosmetics [5].

Valquer is an active manufacturer. It runs its own online shop, maintains a US distribution arm and offices in the United Kingdom and Mexico, and marked its 50th anniversary in July 2025 [5]. Its manufacturing remains based in Villaminaya, Toledo.