Beiersdorf DIGITAL

Target: Beiersdorf AG, including relevant subsidiaries, controlled entities, joint ventures, and controlling principals.

Research date: 22 October 2026.

Evidence period: Primarily 2022–2026, with historical evidence separately identified.

Scope: Enterprise technology, data processing, digital surveillance, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, Israeli technology relationships, corporate technology investments, and technology provision to state institutions.

Enterprise Technology Stack & Vendor Relationships

Corporate structure and technology attribution

Beiersdorf identifies maxingvest Group as its majority shareholder, holding 54.4% of its outstanding shares in its published shareholder structure.¹

Beiersdorf’s 2025 financial statements identify maxingvest GmbH & Co. KGaA as the ultimate controlling company, BBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH as the direct controlling parent, Wolfgang Herz as the ultimate controlling related party, and Michael Herz as an individual exercising significant influence over maxingvest.²

Maxingvest’s March 2022 announcement assigned primary responsibility for Beiersdorf to Wolfgang Herz and for Tchibo to Michael Herz, while retaining their broader family ownership arrangement.³

Beiersdorf’s 2025 corporate governance disclosure identifies supervisory-board membership and external professional roles, including Wolfgang Herz’s positions involving Participia Holding, maxingvest, Tchibo, Blume2000, and TOPP Holding.⁴

Confirmed enterprise platforms

In February 2024, Beiersdorf announced that it had completed a transition to SAP S/4HANA across its global affiliates, describing the system as supporting standardized and automated business processes.⁵

The 2025 annual report states that Microsoft Copilot was rolled out to 3,300 employees, while tesa’s AI Enablement Program reached approximately 3,800 employees.⁶

The 2025 workforce disclosures identify SAP SuccessFactors as the platform used to digitize tesa’s global talent-review process for approximately 4,000 employees and its performance-management process, including approximately 1,300 commercial employees.⁷

The 2023 annual report identifies Uncountable as a technology partner providing an AI-supported formulation-development platform, available following integration to as many as 300 developers worldwide.⁸

Enterprise cybersecurity

Beiersdorf’s 2025 risk disclosure describes a cybersecurity programme involving preparation for attacks, supplier IT-security assessments, resilience measures, and compliance monitoring relating to the EU’s NIS2 framework.⁹

The 2024 annual report describes improvements to cloud services, recovery capabilities, operational security, and externally certified information-security arrangements.¹⁰

Israeli-origin software procurement

No public evidence identified establishing a direct Beiersdorf procurement, subscription, licence, or integration relationship with Check Point, Wiz, SentinelOne, CyberArk, NICE, Verint, Claroty, Palo Alto Networks, or another specifically identified Israeli-origin enterprise security provider.

Systems integrators and indirect procurement

No public evidence identified demonstrating that an Israeli-origin technology provider was mandated or deployed through Beiersdorf’s SAP transformation, Microsoft environment, Uncountable deployment, or a named systems integrator.

Technology services within the corporate group

Beiersdorf’s 2025 related-party disclosures report that Beiersdorf Shared Services GmbH provided IT services to maxingvest, Tchibo, and Matthew Algie, with respective reported 2025 service amounts of approximately €0.2 million, €3.3 million, and €0.5 million.²

No public evidence identified establishing that these related-party IT services involved an Israeli-origin technology supplier.

Surveillance, Biometrics & Retail Technology

Consumer imaging and biometric-adjacent processing

Beiersdorf’s SKINLY programme uses digital imaging equipment and an associated application to collect and analyse skin characteristics and lifestyle-related information, including skin images, skin tone, wrinkles, and other measurements.¹¹

Beiersdorf’s December 2025 explanation of SKINLY describes an international study operating since late 2019 and collecting more than 80 parameters, including skin characteristics, lifestyle information, and environmental factors.¹²

The company’s published SKINLY privacy policy identifies photographs, selfies, health-related information, personal identifiers, and data potentially supplied through third-party applications as categories processed by the programme.¹³

Consumer-facing facial analysis

Beiersdorf’s 2022 capital-markets presentation describes NIVEA SKiN GUiDE as a consumer-facing skin-analysis application that had processed more than two million selfies, served approximately 700,000 unique users, and expanded to 20 markets by the reporting period.¹⁴

The 2025 annual report describes SKINLY as an ongoing global research platform using artificial intelligence to analyse consumer skin images and associated measurements.¹¹

Israeli retail computer-vision supplier lead

Trax Retail published a description of a retail-technology demonstration featuring consumer goods from several manufacturers, including Beiersdorf, on simulated supermarket shelves; the described application was image recognition and retail shelf analytics.¹⁵

The Trax account establishes the presence of Beiersdorf products in the demonstration but does not identify Beiersdorf as a buyer, licensee, integrator, or contractual customer of Trax.¹⁵

Israeli-origin facial recognition and retail surveillance

No public evidence identified establishing Beiersdorf deployment of Trigo, BriefCam, AnyVision/Oosto, Trax, or another named Israeli-origin facial-recognition, biometric-identification, or retail-surveillance product.

Predictive monitoring and workforce surveillance

No public evidence identified establishing Beiersdorf use of Israeli-origin predictive-policing, workforce-surveillance, or intelligence-oriented social-media-monitoring software.

Indirect third-party deployment

No public evidence identified establishing that Israeli-origin surveillance technology reaches Beiersdorf through a managed security service, retailer arrangement, agency, or enterprise-software bundle.

Cloud Infrastructure, Data Residency & Sovereign Cloud Participation

Israeli commercial presence

Beiersdorf’s published global locations directory identifies Alpa-BDF Ltd. as its Israeli operation, with an address at Medinat Hayehudim 89, Herzliya, Israel.¹⁶

Alpa Cosmetics states that it established Alpa-BDF as a joint venture with Beiersdorf in 2019 to develop the Israeli market presence of NIVEA and LABELLO.¹⁷

The Alpa Cosmetics disclosure describes distribution and brand-development activity but does not identify cloud infrastructure, technical hosting facilities, or the provision of sovereign-cloud services.¹⁷

Data processing and data-exposure footprint

Beiersdorf’s 2025 research disclosure states that its SKINLY programme had accumulated approximately one billion data records and more than 140 million high-resolution skin images from over 22,000 participants across more than 60 countries by the end of 2025.¹¹

The SKINLY privacy policy identifies Beiersdorf AG in Hamburg as the personal-data controller and describes collection and analytical processing of identifiable personal information, skin images, health information, and lifestyle data.¹³

The privacy policy states that data may be disclosed to competent authorities where required by applicable legal obligations and describes the use of encryption and pseudonymisation or anonymisation measures.¹³

The privacy policy does not establish a specific Israeli hosting region, Israeli data processor, Israeli research recipient, or routine transfer of SKINLY data into Israeli jurisdiction.¹³

Enterprise cloud and generative AI

The 2025 risk disclosure states that Beiersdorf uses cloud services and AI-supported applications, operates an internal large-language-model application, and has consolidated marketing-related AI tools into a controlled platform.⁹

The 2025 business and strategy report confirms the deployment of Microsoft Copilot to 3,300 employees.⁶

Israeli data centres and processing infrastructure

No public evidence identified establishing that Beiersdorf owns, leases, or operates an Israeli data centre or that identifiable customer information is stored in an Israeli cloud region.

Project Nimbus and government cloud contracts

No public evidence identified establishing Beiersdorf participation in Project Nimbus, Israeli government-cloud procurement, or an equivalent Israeli state cloud-infrastructure programme.

Data sovereignty services to state institutions

No public evidence identified establishing that Beiersdorf provides digital sovereignty, government data-residency, or cloud-resilience services to Israeli state or military institutions.

Settlement-related digital infrastructure

No public evidence identified establishing deployment of Beiersdorf-operated cloud infrastructure, enterprise platforms, or digital services within an Israeli settlement in occupied Palestinian territory.

Defence, Intelligence & Security Sector Technology Relationships

Israeli military and intelligence contracts

No public evidence identified establishing a technology contract between Beiersdorf, Alpa-BDF, maxingvest, or a relevant controlled affiliate and the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israeli intelligence agencies, or security-service technology procurement bodies.

Dual-use enterprise technology

Beiersdorf’s published technology activities include enterprise resource planning, employee-management systems, formulation-development software, consumer imaging, and AI-assisted product research.^{5, 7, 8, 11}

No public evidence identified establishing that Beiersdorf supplied these systems to Israeli military, intelligence, or law-enforcement bodies.

Technology intermediaries

Alpa Cosmetics identifies Alpa-BDF’s purpose as developing Beiersdorf consumer brands in Israel, with no military or security-technology service described in the company’s account.¹⁷

No public evidence identified establishing that Alpa-BDF acts as a defence-technology distributor, military systems integrator, or supplier of digital surveillance products.

Offensive cyber capabilities

No public evidence identified establishing Beiersdorf development, acquisition, licensing, maintenance, or supply of offensive cyber tools, zero-day exploit capabilities, or digital weapons.

Constructive-notice period

Beiersdorf’s 2025 reports establish continued corporate investment in enterprise AI, cybersecurity, and digital systems after July and November 2024, without identifying Israeli military or intelligence recipients of those systems.^{6, 9}

No public evidence identified establishing a qualifying technology-provision relationship with Israeli military or intelligence institutions continuing after 19 July 2024 or November 2024.

Purpose-built targeting systems

No public evidence identified establishing Beiersdorf involvement in autonomous military targeting, fire-control AI, kill-chain automation, or software designed primarily to generate targets for kinetic military effects.

AI, Algorithmic & Autonomous Systems

Enterprise AI

The 2025 annual report identifies Microsoft Copilot as an enterprise AI tool introduced to 3,300 employees and describes tesaGPT as a proprietary language-model application introduced in 2023.⁶

The 2025 risk disclosures describe an internal large-language-model application and a consolidated marketing AI environment intended to support controlled use of generative AI technologies.⁹

AI-supported scientific research

Beiersdorf’s 2023 annual report identifies an Uncountable-supported AI development platform that assists researchers in processing complex experimental data and optimising product formulations.⁸

The 2025 annual report describes the Future Lab programme and the use of AI to support formulation-development processes.¹¹

The same report identifies HawkEye as an AI-powered platform used at the company’s Shanghai research centre to analyse consumer insights and skin-care needs.¹¹

SKINLY data and algorithms

The 2025 annual report describes SKINLY’s use of machine learning and generative AI to analyse skin photographs and related data and to improve research parameters.¹¹

The programme’s publicly reported data holdings reached approximately one billion records and 140 million skin images by the end of 2025.¹¹

The privacy policy identifies categories of consumer information used in the programme, including photographs, health-related information, and lifestyle data.¹³

No public evidence identified establishing use of intercepted communications, Palestinian civilian-surveillance datasets, Israeli military datasets, or Israeli intelligence-derived information in SKINLY model training.

AI technology provision to Israel

No public evidence identified establishing that Beiersdorf supplies computer vision, predictive analytics, generative AI, or automated decision-support systems to Israeli state, military, intelligence, or security organisations.

Autonomous security applications

No public evidence identified establishing provision of autonomous tracking, automated threat identification, or surveillance decision-support systems to Israeli security institutions.

Technology Ecosystem & R&D Footprint

Israeli commercial and research presence

Beiersdorf’s global locations directory identifies Alpa-BDF Ltd. in Herzliya, Israel.¹⁶

Alpa Cosmetics identifies the joint venture’s establishment in 2019 and describes its role in the Israeli market for NIVEA and LABELLO.¹⁷

No public evidence identified establishing an Israeli Beiersdorf-operated software engineering centre, cybersecurity laboratory, AI development office, or dedicated technology accelerator.

International research platforms

Beiersdorf’s 2025 annual report describes continuing AI-supported research at its Shanghai research centre and international operation of the SKINLY programme.¹¹

The company’s open-innovation programme invites collaboration with external research institutes, universities, scientists, suppliers, and startups.¹⁸

Corporate venture capital

On 31 March 2026, Beiersdorf announced a second-generation Skin Care Innovation Fund with a €100 million commitment, targeting life sciences, biotechnology, sustainability, AI-enabled technologies, and digital health.¹⁹

Beiersdorf Venture Capital’s published investment approach describes minority investments of up to 20%, initial investment sizes between €0.5 million and €5 million, and a geographical focus covering Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.²⁰

Beiersdorf’s 2022 annual report identifies investments in Emerald Technology Ventures and Revent as part of its sustainability and open-innovation activities.²¹

On 22 May 2025, Beiersdorf announced a strategic investment and development partnership with Vincere Biosciences, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, involving research into cellular processes relevant to skin ageing.²²

The March 2026 corporate announcement identifies DePoly and Melt&Marble among companies associated with its sustainability-oriented investment activities.¹⁹

Israeli technology acquisitions and investments

No public evidence identified establishing an acquisition of an Israeli cybersecurity, surveillance, AI, intelligence-technology, or military-technology company by Beiersdorf or its corporate venture-capital operation.

No public evidence identified establishing a qualifying personal investment by Wolfgang Herz, Michael Herz, or another controlling Beiersdorf principal in a named Israeli surveillance or military-technology company.

Patents and intellectual property

Beiersdorf’s 2025 annual report identifies a worldwide portfolio of 1,867 active patents at 31 December 2025, comprising 783 granted patents and 1,084 applications under review.¹¹

No public evidence identified establishing a significant technology-licensing, patent co-development, or AI-research agreement between Beiersdorf and Technion, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute, or another named Israeli research institution.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Regulatory History

UN and specialist civil-society screening

No public evidence identified in the examined material establishing that Beiersdorf, Alpa-BDF, maxingvest, or its identified controlling principals were specifically named as technology suppliers in the investigated UN settlement-business or occupation-related technology reporting.

No public evidence identified establishing a Beiersdorf-specific technology investigation by Who Profits, AFSC Investigate, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Citizen Lab, Access Now, or the other specialist organisations considered during the research.

Historical website controversy

A 2011 Ynet report described complaints concerning Israel’s omission from Beiersdorf’s online country directory and reported that the company subsequently added Israel to that directory.²³

The report concerned geographic representation on a commercial website and did not describe military technology, surveillance infrastructure, intelligence contracts, or settlement-specific digital services.²³

Boycott and divestment activity

No public evidence identified establishing an organised campaign specifically directed at Beiersdorf’s provision of cybersecurity, surveillance, AI, military information systems, or cloud infrastructure to Israeli state institutions.

Regulatory actions

No public evidence identified establishing export-control proceedings, sanctions enforcement, technology-related procurement challenges, or regulatory investigations concerning Beiersdorf’s technology services to Israeli military or intelligence bodies.

Consumer data and regulatory disclosures

Beiersdorf’s published SKINLY privacy policy identifies the German company as data controller and describes categories of personal data, purposes of processing, data-subject rights, and disclosures required by law.¹³

The 2025 annual report identifies risks associated with cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, generative AI, and the unintended disclosure of information to external AI systems.⁹

No public evidence identified establishing a regulatory determination that Beiersdorf transferred consumer imaging or health-related data to Israeli security agencies.