International Women's Day. Reason for me to think about women in general, but especially about the women in our family.
The family business was also a women's business from the very beginning in our family company. My grandfather, Richard A. Eckstein, a pharmacist, founded our company in 1949 with my grandmother, Linde Eckstein. He once shared his memory of it in an interview: "By the way, the idea of cosmetics actually came from my wife [...] What I was able to contribute was my medical and pharmaceutical knowledge on the one hand and my love of philosophy on the other." As a strong team, the two selected and tested active ingredients for new and unique care products and created cosmetic expertise on which our company is still based today. Our Azulene Paste for impure skin, for example, stems from these beginnings and is still one of the most popular products in our range after more than seventy years.
In the 1980s, my father, Gerd Eckstein, and my mother, Iris Eckstein, took over the fortunes of our company. They expanded the range, created a new seminar concept for beauticians' training, and moved their center of life to California to make Doctor Eckstein® internationally known from there.
My mother came to Doctor Eckstein® at a young age as a laboratory technician. It was there that my parents met and fell in love.
A couch talk with my mother
Me: Mom, what do you remember in particular when you look back on your early days at Doctor Eckstein®?
My mother: Definitely developing our repair complex for mature and sun-stressed skin. It was like a bit of a movie-story. Your father was so convinced of the new active ingredient that he introduced it even before the manufacturer's proof of effectiveness was published in the trade press.
Me: And what happened next?
My mother: For me, the movie-story continued in the laboratory. I had to formulate the new type of repair complex into a stable night cream, which just didn't want to be stable. Then I finally had the cream stable, but its consistency did not feel comfortable on the skin. So when it was finally then possible to harmoniously combine the oil components and emulsifiers, the Repair Supreme was an absolute dream.
Me: Does that mean your development was able to convince our customers?
My mother: No doubt. We had a significant advantage: there were almost no repair active ingredients and practically no competition on the market. Back then, we set standards for the care of mature skin. By the way, I am very proud, Verena, that you too were able to implement your first passion project in the company so successfully with the relaunch of our body care line Beautipharm®.
Me: First of all, I'm glad to have grandma and you as strong female role models. And, of course, it's a challenge to follow in such big footsteps. But yes, Beautipharm® is absolutely my dream baby. This body care line stands for lightness, conscious life, and, of course, the high scientific expertise in our family business. It's vegan, with certified organic ingredients - a significant issue, especially for my generation. The light citrus scent is reminiscent of my home in California. And it is produced at our headquarters in Germany under the highest quality standards - "Made in Germany."
My mother: I just think it's beautiful that with you, the next generation of women is helping to shape the future of our family business. And as you say, it helps immensely if the environment offers role models who raise the bar for their own goals. Simply because you see that it is possible.
Me: Yes, and it's not limited to one's own family. Supporting each other, with friends, in business. Wherever we women come together, "women empowerment" can take place in the best sense of the word. Happy International Women's Day, Mom!
1Eckstein, R. A., Gespräch mit einer Fachkosmetikerin, in: Dialog mit der Praxis, edition 3/74 (Oberasbach: Linde Eckstein Biopharmacie KG, 1974), 5