At Birkenstock, foot health is the name of the game.
On Tuesday, the brand, best known for its sandals and cork footbeds, will roll out its foot care collection Care Essentials, which includes Relaxing Bath Salts, Smoothing Pumice Stone, Exfoliating Foot Scrub, Nourishing Foot Balm, Relief Lotion Tired Leg & Foot, Comforting Dry Oil and kits of these products, ranging from $10 to $50, all made in Germany. The German company, which reported earnings of 565 million euros in the third quarter, is also celebrating its 250th anniversary this year.
Birkenstock Relaxing Bath Salts
Courtesy of Birkenstock
“In 2024 we are celebrating the 250 years of tradition in shoemaking for Birkenstock,” said Quentin Ojeda, director of Birkenstock Cosmetics. “Looking at our archive and at what Carl Birkenstock wrote back then in the late ’40s, we had foot care always as a pillar of foot health… We see simply, now that we’re celebrating the 250 years, the perfect occasion to simply extend and complete our 360 approach to foot health with this collection.”
This isn’t the brand’s first foray into beauty and wellness, as Birkenstock launched its skin care line Natural Care in 2017 complete with 28 stock keeping units formulated with cork oak extract. However, the line has since been discontinued, according to the company. Now, with the new Care Essentials line, the brand is pivoting its approach to the beauty and wellness category, focusing more on skin care specifically for the feet.
“The idea here was simply to focus on what we stand for… We wanted to be the first skin care routine for your feet. That simply does not exist,” said Ojeda. “We forget our feet. Despite everything we do with our feet, we don’t give them the care that they deserve.”
Birkenstock Relief Lotion Tired Leg & Foot
Therefore, the collection of products is broken down into three segments: relax, exfoliate and care. According to Ojeda, these products provide the next level of foot care after Birkenstock’s hero footbed, made with cork and latex to support the feet.
“What I like to say is that the footbed is the perfect companion to bring you from A to B, but when you rest at home, the Care Essentials line comes in and it’s there when you are not moving,” he said.
To celebrate the launch, Birkenstock will be hosting foot spas where guests can try out the products and experience the brand’s exclusive massage protocol, either 15 or 30 minutes, which was developed in partnership with reflexologists. The first foot spa will be held at concept store Merci in Paris for six weeks. Birkenstock will go on to host similar events in Singapore, Japan and the United States.
While the collection is launching with six essentials, Ojeda said the team is eyeing foot care trends and already has new skus in the works.
