The family legacy
In 1927, Josef Heller founded the company HELFE in Feldkirch. He composed the name from HEL-ler FE-ldkirch.
Over 90 years later, we as a company can look back with pride on our history and the still existing family tradition of the Heller family in Feldkirch. There are three pillars on which our company is based:
HELFE
Excursion into history
1927
Foundation stone
In 1927, Josef Heller laid the foundations for the HELFE success story by establishing a laboratory for his Herz-Jesu pharmacy in Feldkirch. He formed the name of the new laboratory by combining “HEL-ler” and “FE-ldkirch”, thus creating a trademark that has been protected since the 1930s.
1928
HELFE Mitizyn Creme
HELFE Mitizyn Cream was launched in 1928. Due to its versatility, the all-purpose cream is still a tradition in many households today and is the ideal companion for every journey.
1934
Acquisition of Sedlitzky Company
In 1934, Sedlitzky & Co, one of the largest bath additive companies at the time, was taken over. Its specialties included carbonic acid baths, which HELFE continued to produce and improve.
1950
The Second Generation
In 1950, Dr. Rüdiger Heller, the second generation of the family, took over the management of the company. Under his leadership, the production of high-quality plant extracts such as hay flower extract began.
1984
New Focus
In 1984, Wolfgang Heller, the third generation of the family, joined the company. His focus was on expanding HELFE economically and further improving the existing products through technical innovations. He also incorporated his strong environmental awareness into the company's mission statement.
1987
The Blue Line
In 1987, HELFE switched to the “blue line”. All the bottles of bath additives are still the same cobalt blue today. A separate deposit system was even developed for the glass bottles in Austria at the time.
1999
The Patent
From 1990 to 1999, HELFE focused on the development of a plant-based anti-inflammatory substance, for which a European patent was granted in 1999.
2000
New Company Building
Due to the increasing demand for HELFE products, the company moved to a new, modern building with 1000m2 of production space in 2000. In order to meet personal sustainability standards, this was equipped with a solar system, a rainwater collection system for cooling the machines, ground cooling and LED lighting.
2016
A New Generation
Alexander Heller, the fourth generation, joined the family business in 2016. His focus is on new marketing strategies and intelligent product innovations. Environmental awareness and sustainability are an important topic that will continue to be developed further in the area of product development in the future. New products, in addition to the traditional bath additives, are in development.
2017
The Innovations
In addition to the new brand identity and the changed label design, the formulas for all products were revised in 2017 to provide them with even more natural ingredients. Mild surfactants, such as coconut surfactants, ensure that the skin is cleansed and nourished when washing and bathing.
2019
Acquisition Company
2019 saw the takeover of the family business HELFE by Alexander Heller. The first shower gel based on the existing plant extracts was also launched on the market at this time.
New contacts are made, such as with Mr. Werner Amann, a cosmetician from Hohenems. He gave Alexander Heller the recipe for his well-known lip care product because of his trust in the HELFE company.
2022
New Product Appearance with Lines
In 2022, we were finally able to share our new product appearance with you after a comprehensive changeover. Not only have we changed the packaging to more sustainable variants, but we have also developed a new label design. This new design enables a clear and distinct allocation to the individual product lines.