Everyone has a Labello
stick in their purse today. Yet back in 1909 it was a novelty and, indeed,
quite a sensation. Although lip care products were available in those days,
applying them was a relatively laborious process. They were either sticks
wrapped in paper or salves that had to be applied with the fingertip.
Small packaging. Big impact. When Beiersdorf
launched Labello, it revolutionized the market in every respect. Not only did
it offer consumers a completely innovative lip care formula, the stick came in
a practical, never-before-seen sliding case. The metal sleeve covering the
stick – which wasn’t introduced for lipsticks in the colour cosmetics market
until several years later – made Labello a best-selling product.
The raw material
shortages caused by the First World War meant that the tin cases were not
available for a number of years, so Beiersdorf started selling Labello refills
that could be inserted in the cases people already had. At the beginning of the
1920s the familiar Labello packaging was replaced by a lighter aluminum case.
The innovative lip care product went on to become an international success and,
by the 1930s, it was being marketed in more than 30 countries.
Necessity is the mother of invention. During the Second
World War and the post-war period, Labello products were in very short supply
again because aluminum, the material used to make the slider cases, was almost
unobtainable until the 1940s. It was time to come up with a new concept for Labello’s
packaging, a concept that was made possible by the economic miracle. In 1953,
the metal case was replaced by a white plastic one. A twist mechanism
introduced some ten years later then further simplified the product’s
application.
One for all. The classic blue
Labello was launched in 1973. Throughout the 1970s new products were
continuously added to the range, including two special products, Labello Med
for sensitive skin and Labello Sun with sun protection factor.
Beiersdorf
still regularly introduces new products to the range and consumers around the
world can now choose between almost 20 different Labellos. In some markets Labello is marketed as a NIVEA lip care product rather than being separately
branded.
Find historical clips and TV commercials at the
Beiersdorf Classic Cinema here.