Nivea
Behind the Scene
The development of NIVEA Creme over 100 years ago marked the beginning of a unique success story and the birth of the World’s No.1 Skin Care Brand. NIVEA is the product of brilliant research, outstanding creativity, and sound business acumen. Together, Dr. Oscar Troplowitz & Professor Paul Gerson Unna developed the world’s first stable oil-and-water-based cream that was suitable for mass production in 1911 and called it NIVEA.
The “mother of all creams” was named for its white colour, and the word NIVEA is derived from the Latin word “nix, nivis” meaning snow. So NIVEA means “snow white.” In addition to Eucerit, which was used to bind the oils with water, the original Creme also contained glycerin and a little citric acid, fragranced with rose and lily-of-the-valley oils. Despite regular refinements to adapt NIVEA Creme’s formula to the latest scientific findings, in essence it has changed very little over the last 100 years.
