One part of antiaging culture that floods today’s beauty scene began 72 years ago in a small pharmacy on Calle de Aragón, in the heart of Barcelona, when Josep Martí Tor, a restless pharmacist with a business mindset, started crafting master formulas for the skin.
“Interested in dermatology, Josep Martí visited the city’s leading hospitals to meet with dermatologists, listen to their needs, research in the libraries, and test solutions with his own formulations,” explains Enric Sallés, chief executive of MartiDerm for the past year and a half. The family had just decided to entrust the company’s management to an external figure for the first time, while keeping control as shareholders through the board. Sallés’ mission is to drive a second growth phase for the group.
The Aragón pharmacy remains open, run by the second generation of the Martí family, and produces 300 master formulas daily for pharmacies across Spain. Rooted in the founder’s curiosity, in 1989 they launched the first MartiDerm ampoule, renowned for pure vitamin C and proteoglycans, described as a “revolutionary cosmetic concept” that has been refined over time and has opened doors to most international markets. Last year, the company’s revenue reached 45 million euros, up 10 percent from the previous year. Of that, 45 percent came from Spain, while the remainder flowed to Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with emphasis on the latter regions.
Queues in front of the pharmacy
[–>]
When the iconic antiaging ampoules hit the market, word of mouth created long lines of customers eager to obtain the treatment. “The second generation saw a business opportunity and convinced the father to establish a more industrial system,” Sallés recalls.
In 1997, MartiDerm emerged as a dermocosmetic laboratory in the initial 3,000-square-meter facilities at Cervelló Business Park. Today, the production hub and MartiDerm’s headquarters cover more than 10,000 square meters, with 99 percent of products manufactured there. Estimates indicate that daily ampoule consumption has exceeded 180,000 units worldwide.
From 2012 to 2015, the company expanded across Spain with sales reps in Madrid and Valencia, later rolling out nationwide. The following three years marked the first wave of internationalization, starting with neighboring countries: Portugal, France, and Italy. In 2017, a pivotal opportunity arose to enter China via the Tmall Global platform for cross-border e-commerce, enabling the sale of products without a local establishment. MartiDerm seized the moment, describing it as a major qualitative leap.
From boom to slowdown
About a year later, the Catalan group became the Spanish brand with the strongest sales on Singles’ Day in China, moving more than six million ampoules and 224,000 other products, totaling eight million euros in a single day. “It was a boom. Revenue quadrupled in a couple of years. But the success stalled with the onset of COVID. China closed, tourism halted, and after that high-growth period a recession followed,” notes the company’s current CEO.
Since then, the focus has shifted to internal reorganizations, bringing in different executive profiles to professionalize day-to-day management, including Sallés, and diversifying international business. MartiDerm aims to ensure that sales once concentrated in China are distributed across other Southeast Asian markets such as South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Currently, 31 percent of sales come from Asia, 55 percent from Europe, almost 12 percent from Latin America, and the remaining 3 percent from the Middle East and North Africa.
Entry into Germany
The second strategic challenge is to consolidate brand visibility in markets where MartiDerm already has a presence while expanding into new territories in those regions. “We have just entered the United Kingdom and are closing deals to establish a footprint in Germany.” MartiDerm has a direct presence in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico where a local subsidiary was created; elsewhere, the company works with international distributors. The group employs about 250 people in Spain and 50 in Mexico. “We are a global brand, and the strategy is to solidify that idea,” argues Sallés. Still, two-digit growth is forecast for this year’s figures.
In this second phase of expansion, the group also weighs potential acquisitions. “We are considering options that bring disruptive innovation or allow entry into specific markets, channels, or projects. A growth plan with inorganic components is on the table. For now, we cannot disclose more as work continues,” he admits.
Along this line, the possibility of moving some production outside of Spain is also on the table. “Transporting cosmetic products is costly because a significant portion is water content, so it makes sense that some manufacturing, over time, could occur locally in Asia or Latin America, even for sustainability reasons—a transversal pillar for MartiDerm.” For now, Cervelló’s plant provides ample room to grow: “Everything we want and more.”
In the long term, a U.S. market entry is also contemplated, “a step that must be evaluated carefully.” “The North American market has more than 300 million people. It’s like entering all of Europe at once. First, safer investments and consolidation in current markets are prioritized. There is still a lot to do,” Sallés concludes.
Enric Sallés, a veterinarian by training, completed MartiDerm’s two-year corporate reorganization, the Catalan cosmetics multinational that has been led by the Martí family for more than seven decades. In 2022 the family stepped back to professionalize the company’s management. Sallés, who joined in early 2023, replaced Montse Martí as CEO, the founder’s daughter. His international background, he says, played a key role in the decision. After practicing as a veterinarian in the United States, he returned to work at a veterinary health laboratory in Kern Pharma, later moving to Laboratorios LETI, dealing with allergies and dermatology in Barcelona. Before MartiDerm he worked at Menarini laboratories, owners of Enantyum. “I’ve spent more than 24 years in the industry, almost always leading international business development and expansion,” he explains. “The Spanish market is the least touched by me. It’s always about establishing affiliates and growing new operations.”
Under Sallés, five executive areas are structured: operations; human resources and training; scientific affairs, including R&D and medical, quality, and regulatory; finance; and finally the commercial and marketing arm, handling sales across the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), internationally, and medical liaison. “We reinforce all our products with medical visits to stay close to professionals’ needs, as we have done from the start,” asserts the CEO.
[–>]