Greek Firm Pioneered Apitherapy Products

Honey and Plant Extract Crèmes Keep the Skin Young
GR Reporter, 4/29/2009

The three leading cosmetic companies in Greece offer original methods for skin beautification and covering the traces from lack of sleep and time, which leaves its marks on the face and body.

The big internationally famous cosmetic companies in Greece are “Apivita,” which is famous with products made out of bee honey, “Korres,” whose first product was a honey and anise cough drop, and last – “Symmetria,” which offers products developed by French experts for facial skin problems.

Following the bees

“Apivita” was founded by the 62 year old Nikos Koutsianas, who was nominated as one of the “20 to know” in 2008 by “Global Cosmetic Industry Magazine.”

Mr. Koutsianas has been producing natural products ever since 1970 and has a long experience as a pharmacist and an apiarist. Long before the “natural products” trend came along, Mr. Koutsianas had started following the bees, which led him to his treasure – the idea of producing crèmes and cosmetics based on honey, bee glue, and royal jelly. In order for the crèmes and lotions to reveal their miraculous powers, Mr. Koutsianas used more than 5 000 plants, including Cretan sea dill and fraxinella. “Apivita’s” team had found more than 50 000 formulas, which make their products successful in more than 4 000 pharmacies in Greece and many newly opened stores worldwide…

When they founded the company in 1979, they four people all together. Now their number exceeds 220 people. The first innovative product, which they launched on the market under the name “Apivita,” was a soap made out of propolis and right now the company has over 300 new products. “Apivita” is famous as the company pioneer in the biocosmetic sector and its products are made entirely of natural products. The company is preferred by consumers and is number one in the hair care market with a share of 40%.

Just like the bees, which fly from flower to flower and are the inspiration of the “Apivita” founders, the company has spread its wings over the world…outside Greece, the products of the company can be found in more than 2 000 stores in 16 countries. Some of the cities where the miraculous bee products are sold are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Stockholm, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Tokyo.

Of course, in order to build such a brand, a good advertising campaign was needed. The initial “push” was given by the image of Mari Sesille, which was created by the Spanish woman Carmen Garcia Bartolome and the packaging by Spiros Ornerakis. Since not too long ago, the image of the brand was entrusted to Red Design Consultants, who also made the logo for the Olympic Games in 2004.

“Apivita’s” products are following five directions – 1. The key ingredient in the Propoline products is the propolis but they also include honey and bee wax. In the apian ingredients, the creators of Propoline mix rosemary, soapworts, and marigold. 2. For Aromatherapy the company uses the strength of nature, essences and plant extracts and it is based on green tea. The use of green tea is an exclusive innovation by “Apivita,” which replaces 65% of water in a big range of products for body and facial care. 3. EXPRESS is a complete line of personal crèmes and masks, which use extracts from fruits and vegetables, which provide a complete nutritional “menu” for the face, bogy and hair. Those products are offered with modern packaging, which allows them to be mixed. This way people can try different crèmes and masks and make their own skin “diet.” 4. Apitherapy are the products, which are made out of honey, propolis, royal jelly, and bee pollen…