New innovation ground: Beiersdorf unveils ‘corporate indie brand’ business unit

The aim of the new unit is to test new business models and develop new and successful “corporate indie brands’.

Hauke Voß, the newly appointed director of the new business unit, said Beiersdorf deliberately decided not to establish an external lab outside the company.

“OSCAR&PAUL – Corporate Indie Brands is not a lab, because we run the business of our brands that have been around for years. We define ourselves as an ‘embedded business accelerator’, a business unit that implements innovative ideas quickly and courageously,” ​he said.

In fact, Voß remarked that the corporate indie business unit was more similar to a start-up.

“Our mission is to consciously think differently and constantly question boundaries. We try to understand trends and markets and to quickly and flexibly develop a tailor-made offer and give impulses. We do all this with great passion and similar working methods of start-ups. We do not simply copy the familiar working methods of the start-up world, but adapt them for our area, thus building a bridge between two worlds.”​

OSCAR& PAUL will work be working with its Beiersdorf colleagues, especially those in R&D and supply chain, as well as external partners. Voß believes this will be a “cornerstone” to the unit’s success.

“We want to create brands that meet today’s consumer demands for authenticity, meaningfulness and speed. We create these out of our team, in close collaboration with our corporate functions, as well as selected external partners.”​

Brand refresher

OSCAR&PAUL plans to further develop brands such as Labello, Hidrofugal and deodorant brand 8X4, which it plans to relaunch first.

“For our existing brands – including Labello, 8X4 and Hidrofugal – over the past two and a half years we have put a clear focus on new ways of brand development and digitisation; and the brands have developed very well,”​ said Voß.

According to Beiersdorf, 8X4 will be a relaunched with a completely new concept based on individualisaton.

“We are currently launching the communication for the big 8X4 relaunch. This is not just about a new packaging or a new design – we have developed a completely new concept based on current trends and the latest findings about consumer needs,” ​said Voß.

Additionally, the company will launch a new brand under OSCAR&PAUL.

Voß said: “In autumn, we will also be launching a great new brand. We are particularly looking forward to this because it is the first new Beiersdorf brand in more than 30 years! We also have a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline.”​