True Stories
Natural beauty: Alterra Naturkosmetik
Hilca Baumann, Team Leader Product Management, is responsible for the private labels of colour cosmetics at Dirk Rossmann GmbH, which also include the colour cosmetics by Alterra Naturkosmetik. Hilca started working with natural cosmetic at Dirk Rossmann GmbH in 2004, and she has been passionate about it ever since.
Corinna Füller is Team Leader Product Management at Dirk Rossmann GmbH. In this position, among other Rossmann home brands, she is responsible for the body and facial care of Alterra Naturkosmetik since 2018. Corinna has over 14 years of experience in the cosmetic market, especially in facial care. Working with natural beauty products enriches her every day.
NATRUE: When and how was Alterra created? What is the idea behind this brand?
Hilca Baumann: The success story of Alterra Naturkosmetik started in 2000. At this time, natural cosmetic products could almost exclusively be found in specialized shops for natural and organic food. The founding family Rossmann took the challenge to enter this niche market to offer consumers natural and organic cosmetic at affordable prices. The assortment of Alterra Naturkosmetik started with 21 facial care products. Currently, we are proud to have a fast-growing assortment of over 260 products.
NATRUE: What are the values of Alterra? How are these values represented in its products?
Corinna Füller: Our motto is: “Of course, naturally beautiful”. Alterra Naturkosmetik is proud to fulfil the modern trends and adapt to the changes in the cosmetic market. Our users can find a wide range of high-quality natural products. Most of these are vegan and certified under the rigorous criteria of NATRUE.
Alterra Naturkosmetik fills every day with pleasure in personal care and beauty, and therefore contributes to improving a little bit the world. Beauty is represented by the good feeling in your own skin. To be kind to oneself and the world around us lets the inner and outer beauty shine.
NATRUE: How is Alterra contributing to a more sustainable cosmetic industry?
Hilca Baumann: Alterra means “to the earth“. Natural cosmetic ingredients come from the soil, but we need to give back to it by developing products in the most sustainable way. In cooperation with our suppliers, we evaluate every aspect of the products and the production process in order to bring more sustainability in every step. Within the last years, Alterra has already taken big steps to bring more sustainability to our customers, for instance, by including recycling materials in the packaging or developing special products to avoid plastic (e.g. shampoo bars and bamboo toothbrushes). Sustainability is very important in the daily work of every Product Manager and supplier, and we are continuously learning and working to develop the best Alterra Naturkosmetik products.
NATRUE: How is Alterra adapting to the new trends and consumer demands in the natural and organic cosmetics sector?
Corinna Füller: The Alterra Naturkosmetik team monitors continuously the cosmetic market – not only the natural and organic sector, but also the conventional market. New trends develop fast and we adapt our offer accordingly to key cosmetic trends, also in our natural cosmetics range. It is our goal to meet the demands in the conventional cosmetic market and translate them in our Alterra Naturkosmetik range. Working closely with our suppliers, we permanently work on new products, optimize existing ones and research on sustainability within Alterra Naturkosmetik.
NATRUE: How do you perceive the role of NATRUE in the natural and organic cosmetic sector?
Hilca Baumann: NATRUE is very important for Alterra Naturkosmetik as the need for orientation for our customers keeps growing. In order to understand and recognise certified natural cosmetics, NATRUE plays a key role and enjoys a high degree of confidence in the market. NATRUE offers information about natural cosmetics and helps understand the differences in comparison with conventional cosmetics. The NATRUE Logo has earned the trust of costumers, which is very important in an often confusing market with many different labels suggesting to be “natural” or “organic”.
NATRUE: What would you say to brands that want to join NATRUE?
Corinna Füller: Especially in Germany, NATRUE offers very good orientation for customers who are looking for honest natural cosmetic. The market of natural and organic cosmetic is growing very fast, and more and more brands with a “natural appearance” are accessing it. A trusted label such as NATRUE helps customers to identify natural and organic cosmetics and adds value to the certified natural and organic market. NATRUE offers transparency with its rigorous label criteria and its levels of certification.
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