The name says it all: Sterillium® has once again been selected as “Brand of the Century”. The award, given by the ZEIT publishing group, honours German brands that exemplify an entire product category.

An award in perpetuity for a true blue icon

We are very pleased with the selection. It spurs us on to continue driving innovation in the field of infection prevention”, says Hossein Gouhari, Global Senior Product Manager Hands and Skin, Disinfection Division of PAUL HARTMANN. “People all over the world appreciate the blue Sterillium® bottle and trust in its effectiveness in preventing infections. This has become quite apparent in the course of the Coronavirus pandemic.”
The induction of the brand into the top class of German brands is entirely proactive – without prior application – by an independent jury and is free of charge for the companies that are selected. The jury of the ZEIT publishing group follows a set of binding rules and relies on selected facts that speak for the success of a brand. For example, factors such as the age of the brand, whether it belongs to a family business, its internationality or whether it has become a staple of German life are taken into account.

What is new is that brands are no longer recognised as “Brand of the Century” for only one year – instead, the title remains valid forever. The selected brands and companies are presented in detail in the book “Deutsche Standards – Marken des Jahrhunderts 2022” (German Standards – Brands of the Century 2022), which was published on 10 November 2021.

Sterillium®: An innovative classic since 1965

As the world’s first marketable alcohol-based hand disinfectant, being at the same time highly effective and yet gentle on the skin, Sterillium® revolutionised hand hygiene in 1965 and set standards in terms of effectiveness and tolerability. Since then, the brand name Sterillium® has been synonymous with hand disinfectants – thanks to its constant innovation. The now numerous products in the brand family continue to set standards in the field of hygiene: for example, since 2019, Sterillium® pure has been available on a propanol basis. It offers the same tried and tested skin care complex, but does without perfumes, colourants and other substances. The Sterillium® Protect & Care pharmacy line was introduced in 2018 for use at home and on the go. Sterillium® classic pure came onto the market as early as 2003 as one of the first dye-free and fragrance-free hand disinfectants.

The brand’s leadership in innovation was also confirmed two years later: in 2005, Sterillium® was the first hand disinfectant to be approved for surgical hand disinfection with a shortened exposure time of only 1.5 instead of 3 minutes. Last but not least, Sterillium® Virugard was the first virus-effective, alcohol-based hand disinfectant to be listed by the Robert Koch Institute in 1995.

The comprehensive efficacy and outstanding skin compatibility of Sterillium® products also has a decisive effect on their success: Sterillium® is now available in more than 50 countries. Even before the Coronavirus pandemic, over four billion hand disinfections were carried out annually with Sterillium® products. Sterillium® – then as now a timeless, globally appreciated brand that is trusted.