Wolfram Langer, Kryolan CEO
Kryolan: 70 Years of Professional Makeup KRYOLAN BEGAN LIKE MANY OTHER GREAT COMPANIES, WITH AN IDEA.
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n idea that was borne in Berlin, in 1945, just months after World War II. With the re-opening of the theatre, founder Arnold Langer sought to supply innovative makeup products for those on stage, and thus, Kryolan began its journey, and has continued to grow ever since. From the famed Victoria’s Secret Angels show, Kylie Jenner, Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter and Jack Sparrow to now being available to customers in over 80 countries. Rather than stay content with it’s inaugural idea, Kryolan has built upon its strong foundations to provide innovative, high quality and affordable makeup for all to use. Wolfram Langer, who grew up during the early days of Kryolan now heads the helm, along with his wife, Malgorzata Langer. He discusses Kryolan’s beginnings, it’s triumphs and the strong sense of family that is shared across every store.
“If you are not going with the times, creating and following what people need, you will eventually disappear from the market.”
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Kryolan began in incredibly humble beginnings. Can you tell us more about what the company was like in it’s early days? Kryolan started three months after ceasefire in Berlin ceasefire, not peace. Germany did not have a formal peace treaty until 1992, and so was technically still at war. The first memories I have in the mid-50s, I was five and my father would let me play while he was working. I still remember the different sizes of the company, for many many years I used to know every single name of every single employee - now that is simply not possible! Kryolan was founded in Germany in 1945 - how does it’s roots and it’s beginnings affect the company today? Are there values that have stood the test of time? The values have definitely stood the test of time. We have remained true to the roots of Kryolan, they are very important to us. We keep the roots very much alive today, it started as a family business and is even more so a family business today my father, he only retired at 92 years old! We have employees who have only ever worked at Kryolan, and continue to work for 20 years, some even 35 years.