Viscontour

Viscontour is a German pharmacy skincare line built around hyaluronic acid, a moisture-binding molecule that also occurs naturally in the skin. The name first belonged to a hyaluronic acid gel sold for wound healing; in 2010 a cosmetic version followed and grew into a small facial-care range sold through pharmacies [4].

For most of its documented history the line belonged to the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi, through its German subsidiary Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland. In 2021 Sanofi agreed to sell Viscontour to the German drugmaker STADA as part of a package of 16 consumer healthcare brands [5]. The brand has since continued under STADA ownership.

No founder and no founding year are documented for Viscontour. Its roots lie in medicine rather than cosmetics. According to a November 2010 report in the German pharmacy trade publication APOTHEKE ADHOC, Sanofi had until a few weeks earlier sold the Viscontour gel only as a medical device to support wound healing [4]. The same report notes that the medical and cosmetic gels differed mainly in packaging design, and only slightly in hyaluronic acid content: 0.5 per cent in the medical product, a little less in the cosmetic one. When the wound-healing gel first reached the market is not recorded.

A package leaflet dated October 2012 shows what the medical product looked like. It describes Viscontour Serum Med as a sterile, preservative-free hydrogel of sodium hyaluronate obtained by fermentation, sold in single-use ampoules and intended to support wound healing and tissue hydration [8]. The leaflet lists Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH in Frankfurt am Main as distributor and TRB Chemedica AG in Haar, near Munich, as manufacturer. It also refers to Viscontour Inject, pre-filled syringes of hyaluronic acid for injection into the skin.

Sanofi's move into pharmacy cosmetics came in autumn 2010. Viscontour Serum, a hydrogel in single-dose ampoules, was presented as the first building block of a new cosmetics series [4]. At the time it was stocked by around 500 pharmacies, and Sanofi said it aimed to win close to 4,000 pharmacies with a cosmetics focus as customers. A day cream with UV protection and a night cream were planned for the following summer.

The trade report placed the launch in a market already shared out among established players, with L'Oréal, then a major Sanofi shareholder, in first place. Sanofi's marketing lead for medical aesthetics, Wolfgang Kaps, argued that no comparable product of this purity existed for skin prone to allergies; the company also said the serum suited people with atopic eczema. Sales and distribution to pharmacies were handled by an outside sales service rather than Sanofi's own team, and the company said it planned an online shop on Facebook so that the line would not remain sold exclusively in pharmacies.

The range later widened into creams and cleansing products. In 2016 the packaging maker RPC Bramlage produced a 240 ml airless dispenser, called Magic Star, for Viscontour cleansing milk; according to the packaging trade press, the pump delivers a set dose of the hyaluronic acid product without exposing it to air [7].

Viscontour was a Sanofi brand from at least 2010. Codecheck, a product database, still lists Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH as the brand owner of an older version of the serum ampoules [10]. More recent sources name STADA.

In 2021 Sanofi agreed to sell 16 local and regional consumer healthcare brands, mainly in Europe, to STADA, a specialty pharmaceutical, generics and non-prescription healthcare company based in Bad Vilbel, Germany. Industry news coverage of the deal named "the Viscontour allergen-free skincare product range" among the brands [5]. The portfolio consisted mostly of cough and cold remedies, which made up more than half of its sales; skin-related brands accounted for around a third. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement covered registrations, trademarks and the associated marketing rights, but no manufacturing assets or employees [6]. STADA said it would look at moving the manufacturing of certain brands into its own supply network. When it was announced in 2021, the deal was expected to close in the third quarter of that year, subject to regulatory approval. The completion date itself is not documented.

The ownership change shows up in today's materials. The legal notice, privacy and terms pages linked from the Viscontour website lead to STADA, whose parent company STADA Arzneimittel AG is registered at Stadastraße in Bad Vilbel [2]. A current retailer listing names STADA Consumer Health Deutschland GmbH as the product's manufacturer [9]. Within STADA, Viscontour sits alongside other pharmacy skincare brands such as Ceridal, Dermalog, Locobase, Nizoexpert and Multilind.

Viscontour presents itself under the slogan "Das Tiefen-Hyaluron" ("deep hyaluron"), its own name for a two-size hyaluronic acid concept. The brand says small hyaluronic acid molecules reach the deeper layers of the skin and plump it from within, while large molecules stay on the surface to smooth it and help prevent moisture loss. It sums this up as a principle of cushioning, smoothing and storing moisture, and promises what it calls a "hydro-lift" effect.

The company describes its approach as a "pure" principle with four parts: depth of effect, purity, protection and a deliberately selective range. According to the brand, almost all of its products contain concentrated hyaluronic acid, and the formulas leave out irritating fragrances and dyes, mineral oils, parabens and silicones. Viscontour says the line was developed together with dermatologists in Germany [1], and the website carries a "Made in Germany" label.

Packaging is central to the brand's pitch. Products come in airless jars, airless pumps or single-dose ampoules. Viscontour argues that this keeps the contents cleaner, since the user touches only the amount being applied, and that it removes the need to add preservatives.

The current range consists of Viscontour Serum, the day cream Cream Tag, the night cream Cream Nacht, the eye product Eye, the cleanser Clean, Viscontour Water and a gift set. The serum is still the centrepiece. It comes in single-dose ampoules meant for daily use on the face, neck and décolletage, either in the morning or evening after cleansing. The brand suggests keeping the ampoules in the refrigerator in summer and wearing the serum under day cream in winter.

An older listing of the serum ampoules shows a short ingredient list: water, sodium hyaluronate, sodium chloride and two sodium phosphates [10]. The medical gel that preceded the cosmetic line was, according to its leaflet, made from fermented sodium hyaluronate and therefore free of animal protein.

No third-party certifications are documented for the brand.

Viscontour is an acquired brand. Following the 2021 sale by Sanofi, it is owned by STADA and remains on the market [9]. The Viscontour website presents the full product range and a pharmacy finder, and states that the products are available in selected pharmacies. The brand's home market is Germany. No dated product launches or news announcements have been documented since the change of ownership.

Sources differ on who makes the products, partly because the information comes from different years. The brand's own website states only "Made in Germany" [1]. The 2012 leaflet for the medical serum named TRB Chemedica AG near Munich as manufacturer, while a current retailer names STADA Consumer Health Deutschland GmbH. Both point to Germany; because the 2021 sale excluded manufacturing assets, the earlier manufacturer may since have changed.