Our Story: From the Neem Farm in Paraguay to natüür
Sometimes life writes the best stories. Ours doesn’t begin in a laboratory, but on a piece of land in Paraguay’s Chaco. What started as an investment became a reforestation project, then the largest neem plantation in the world and finally natüür: skincare for sensitive and stressed skin with our own neem active ingredient NEEMAVERA®. Here we tell you how it all fits together.
natüür at a glance
- Munich family business with its own neem farm “El Retiro” in Paraguay
- 22,000 hectares: the largest neem plantation in the world
- Our own active ingredient NEEMAVERA® from 100 % neem leaves, obtained using patented CO₂ extraction
- Developed in Munich, made in Germany, vegan and dermatologically tested
- Two skincare lines: Med Care and Essentials, available in Germany and Austria
Our story in stages
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2013 | As a family business, we buy land in Paraguay and decide on a reforestation project with neem trees. |
| From 2013 | Step by step, pastureland becomes a neem plantation. During pruning, we discover the leaves as a valuable raw material. |
| 2021 | Our own production hall for washing, drying and grinding the leaves is built on the farm. |
| 2022 | Our first skincare cream comes onto the market. |
| 2023/24 | Feedback from users leads to new products, including Scalp Oil, Nail Balm, Cream forte and Skin Balm. |
| Today | Two skincare lines, Med Care and Essentials, all with NEEMAVERA®, whose CO₂ process is now patented. |
From investment to climate protection
In 2013, as a family business, we bought land in Paraguay, originally as an investment. It quickly became clear that we wanted to make more of it: plant new trees to protect the climate and sustainably reforest former pastureland.
A reforestation project of this size needs careful planning, because even small details decide between success and failure. That’s why, right at the start, we brought together a team of finance experts, lawyers, forestry and agricultural science, biology, climate research, and veterinary and human medicine.
In our search for the right tree, we landed on the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). It is robust, evergreen, resistant to insects and copes well with the extreme conditions on site: lots of sun, great heat, long droughts. Its foliage grows quickly and densely and can therefore bind a lot of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
From farmland to forest
A farm becomes a plantation, and a plantation needs to be managed professionally: from raising new seedlings to caring for the fully grown trees. Neem trees grow quickly and have to be pruned regularly. This produces large quantities of leaves every year.
For many, that would be green waste. For us, it became our greatest treasure. Because neem has had a firm place in the Ayurvedic tradition for centuries, especially in skincare. You can read more about this in What is Ayurveda?. And today, research is also taking an interest in the compounds in neem leaves.
Our farm “El Retiro”
Our farm lies in the middle of the Chaco steppe, near Mariscal Estigarribia. No larger town for miles around, no motorway, no airport: the trees grow far away from exhaust fumes and industry. At 22,000 hectares, “El Retiro” is today the largest neem plantation in the world, which is roughly two thirds of the area of Munich.
In April 2024, there were already over 202,000 planted neem trees there. Depending on the season, up to 13,000 cattle grazed between the rows of trees. The trees give them shade, and their dung fertilises the soil.
We control the entire chain ourselves, without middlemen: we raise the seedlings by hand from the seeds of our own trees, so we know exactly where they come from. We never buy in leaves, and only leaves end up in the raw material, no other parts of the plant. The work on the farm is supported by technology that we largely develop ourselves, in Germany and on site in Paraguay: from AI-supported growth monitoring to our own software and hardware, with which we improve yields and conserve resources.
In 2021, our own production hall was built on the farm, designed by a German engineer. There, the freshly harvested leaves are washed, gently dried within two days and ground. We show you what happens next step by step in the article From neem leaf to your cream.
The people on the farm
A project of this size is a privilege and comes with responsibility, for nature and for the people who live and work there. Over 150 people live and work on “El Retiro”. All employees and their families have social and health insurance. So that the children don’t have to go to a boarding school away from their parents, we built a school right on the farm. A fair, cooperative relationship on an equal footing is important to us.
From neem to natüür
Once it was clear how much valuable raw material was growing on our farm, we didn’t want to simply sell it. We wanted to make something of our own from it: skincare for people whose skin has to put up with a great deal.
That’s how NEEMAVERA® came about, our own active ingredient complex from 100 % neem leaves. Using a patented, solvent-free CO₂ process, we obtain the relevant plant compounds in Germany, up to 50 times more concentrated than in the dried leaf. In an in-vitro study, Dermatest confirmed its skin compatibility as well as its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Find out more on our NEEMAVERA® page.
In 2022, our first skincare cream came onto the market, specially developed for psoriasis-prone skin. From the very beginning, we have worked closely with people who are affected themselves. In the early days, users in our former Co-Creator programme tested prototypes over several weeks and gave us feedback on skin feel, application and texture. Members of Psoriasis-Netz put our cream through a product test; you can find out more in the test report.
A lot came out of this feedback: the rich Cream forte and the Skin Balm for particularly dry skin, the Scalp Oil for the scalp, the Nail Balm for the nails, a value size and a trial size of the Cream. Since then, we have also taken on board feedback from people with atopic dermatitis, rosacea, eczema and very dry skin.
natüür today
One cream has become two skincare lines:
- Med Care: highly concentrated care for particularly demanding skin that is prone to irritation, for example with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea or eczema
- Essentials: uncomplicated care for your daily routine
The formulations are created in Munich and manufactured in Germany. All products are vegan, cruelty-free and dermatologically tested with the result “very good”. They are available in Germany and Austria.
“As much effect as possible. As few ingredients as necessary.”
Our guiding principle
We are convinced: good skincare doesn’t have to be complicated. That’s why we formulate minimalistically, without parabens, silicones and colourings, and only with what your skin really needs. You can read why less is often more in the guide Minimalist skincare. Our products are cosmetic skincare and accompany medical treatment; they don’t replace it.
Sustainable all the way to your door
We also look after the environment when it comes to shipping. We ship with DHL GoGreen. Our shipping boxes are made from recycled, unbleached paper, and instead of plastic padding or packing peanuts, we use paper shreds made from the same material. This means you can simply put the entire packaging in the paper recycling.
Frequently asked questions
Who is behind natüür?
natüür is a brand of Azadivine GmbH, a Munich family business. Since 2013, we have been running our own neem farm in Paraguay, from whose leaves we obtain our active ingredient NEEMAVERA®.
Where is natüür’s neem farm?
Our farm “El Retiro” lies in Paraguay’s Chaco, near Mariscal Estigarribia. At 22,000 hectares, it is the largest neem plantation in the world.
Since when have natüür products been available?
Our first skincare cream came onto the market in 2022. Today there are two skincare lines: Med Care and Essentials.
Where are the products made?
We develop the formulations in Munich, and the products are manufactured in Germany. The neem leaves come exclusively from our own farm in Paraguay.
Where can I buy natüür?
Our products are available in Germany and Austria, for example directly in our online shop at natuur.de.