Dr.Hauschka is the brand name for the skin care range made by WALA Heilmittel GmbH, and Elysia is the UK distributor of Dr.Hauschka.
Wala is a very special company indeed, with the job of supporting people through Anthroposophical medicine and a special ownership structure called a "Stiftung" that is like a Foundation. In other words, WALA can not be sold or bought and its profits do not go to shareholders.
This special ownership structure was created in 1986 when the remaining founding owners of the WALA company decided to protect the company for all time and gave up their ownership to the "Stiftung".
Anthroposophical medicine is a system of medicine that was developed by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman in the 1920s. It extends the standard anatomical understanding that underlies modern medicine with a classification of the life processes that occur in us: body, soul and spirit. By understanding the growth and formative processes that flow through our physical bodies it is possible to gain a complete and holistic picture of the human being.
Out of this understanding of life-processes it is possible for medicinal remedies to be created from plants and herbs that can act as a guide to our own life-processes, to balance and harmonise them. Anthroposophical medicine views disease as coming from a disturbance or imbalance in the life-processes, and turns to its range of remedies, as well as a wide range of other therapeutic activities to counteract these imbalances and restore equilibrium and good health.
WALA is an economic success story, focussed and effective in business and yet free to be ethically and socially responsible. There are no shareholders demanding higher dividends so there is no pressure to maximise profits by cutting corners. It's ethical trading style was established from the outset, 70 years ago.
Founded in 1935, Wala is now a multi-million pound business employing over 600 people around the world. There are also thousands of hectares of farmland all over the world providing raw ingredients for the Dr.Hauschka products in an environmentally responsible way, supporting the local communities in an economically sustainable way.
The Dr.Hauschka products were created out of this deep anthroposophical understanding of nature and the Human Being. They are made by a company that has a 100% commitment to quality - and no shareholders to compromise that commitment when it proves to be expensive. These special products are being sold around the world in ever growing volumes, because they work, because they make people's lives better: customers, co-workers, farmers and villagers around the world.
Elysia is the distributor of the Dr.Hauschka products in the UK. It is a company that is independent of WALA, and it supports and upholds the principles created by WALA. Elysia is responsible for the marketing and promotion of Dr.Hauschka in the UK.
Elysia realised that the products were so good that they could afford to compete with any range in the market. As we began to realise just how effective the Dr.Hauschka skin care range is we decided to move it in to the main stream of the market.
A sustained and careful PR campaign drew the products to the attention of the British public, and this process was strongly boosted when celebrities such as Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Julia Roberts started raving about the products. Celebrity endorsement is powerful, but particularly so when it is spontaneous and unsolicited. People love the products and tell other people about them - and when those people are famous, well lots of people listen!
Our marketing is based on providing education on the products and their application. Of course we present beautiful images in our marketing, but they are genuine images. All the models are real Dr.Hauschka users - our intention is that our images should represent you, not an impossible dream. Beyond the images we always explain why and how the products work. That is why our catalogue and web site are so important to us - they offer the space and opportunity to properly explain the brand.
Elysia has three aims: firstly to make Dr.Hauschka known, secondly to make the products available and thirdly to offer our customers the very best service we can possibly provide. That means that we try to explain about the products as well as we can, and then we leave it to you to try them if you would like to. If you would like to be a customer, then we will do our best to offer you a good service.
Initially, the only way you could buy the products really was by mail order. However, over time we have established a network of outlets that supply Dr.Hauschka more conveniently from the high street.
All Approved Dr.Hauschka outlets have signed up to an agreement with us that they will take the time to explain the products properly to you. We provide them and their staff with special training courses free of charge so that they can do that. Everybody has their favourite shops and types of shops and so we don't favour one particular "channel", department stores for instance, but rather Dr.Hauschka is available from outlets that have a passion and commitment to the products and treatments.
Elysia has grown from a garage in 1994 to it's present location in the Worcestershire countryside that you can see in the photographs.