Walter Kaufmann Nachf

Walter Kaufmann Nachf is a German family skincare company founded on 15 January 1950 by the married couple Walter and Frieda Kaufmann in Bad Kreuznach [4]. The founder, whose full name was Friedrich Walter Kaufmann (1912–1983), had worked in the pharmaceutical industry before developing a rich, water-free care cream. The first batches were made and hand-filled into tins in the basement of the family home on Birkenweg 8 [4].

More than seven decades on, the business trades as Walter Kaufmann Nachf. GmbH, is still based in Bad Kreuznach, and sells its creams under the Kaufmanns name. It remains active: the company says its products have been trusted since 1950, they are still manufactured in Bad Kreuznach, and they reach buyers mainly through pharmacies and drugstores.

Walter Kaufmann had a background in the pharmaceutical industry, and it was there that the recipe behind the first creams took shape. His wife Frieda, born Frieda Margareta Enck, co-founded the company and was closely involved in getting the products to customers. In the early years the couple built distribution above all through midwives, and also through pediatricians and pharmacies [4] — a route that placed the creams in the hands of the people caring for newborns. The two original products, a skin-and-children's cream and a foot-and-body cream, were made in small quantities at home before the operation grew.

The Kaufmanns range centres on a small set of long-standing creams: the Haut- und Kinder-Creme (skin and children's cream) for sensitive skin and babies, the Fuss- und Körper-Creme (foot and body cream), and the Wundertube, a tube with an angled opening for protection against moisture and cold. The company describes the skin-and-children's cream as one of its particularly recommended products across more than seven decades [2].

The creams are built on lanolin, zinc oxide and petrolatum. According to the company, the lanolin can bind up to three times its weight in water, while zinc oxide has anti-inflammatory and moisture-binding properties [3]. Because the formulation contains no water, it needs no preservatives, and the company states that its products comply with the EU Cosmetics Regulation and the European Pharmacopoeia [3].

The company stayed in the founder's hands for roughly three decades. On 1 January 1981, at the age of 68, Walter Kaufmann transferred the business to new owners; production continued in Bad Kreuznach and has done so since [4]. Today the parent entity is Walter Kaufmann Nachf. GmbH, headquartered on Schwabenheimer Weg in Bad Kreuznach.

The company frames itself as a family firm making high-quality skincare for babies, children and adults, and says its aim is that "even your baby feels completely comfortable." Its stated outlook is summed up in the line that where people go to work with passion, something great can emerge. The creams are positioned as pharmacy-style care for sensitive skin, and the company marks their manufacture in Bad Kreuznach as part of that identity.

Walter Kaufmann Nachf is an active brand. It maintains a live website and an Instagram account, its products remain on sale through pharmacies and drugstores, and manufacturing continues in Bad Kreuznach. The company reached 75 years since its 1950 founding in 2025.