Less is More

What Less is More does

Less is More is a privately-held, Vienna-based certified organic cosmetics brand founded in 2007 by Dr. Doris Brandhuber (a chemist with a PhD in biomimetics) and Hannes Trummer (a professional hairstylist). The company develops and manufactures its products in-house in Austria, applying a biomimetic R&D approach that translates natural biological mechanisms and Alpine-plant bioactives into haircare, skincare, bodycare, and fragrance SKUs. The portfolio is carried across five pillars — Haircare, Facecare, Bodycare, the ALMA Clean Mom & Baby sub-brand, and a Fragrance line — and is supported by proprietary technology including a prebiotic PURE haircare line, a four-action Pure Bond Complex hair-repair system, and a modular facecare architecture using clinically studied actives (Hyaluron, Astaxanthin, Ectoin, Peptides). One inbound-licensed active, REDENSYL, anchors the Alma Mom hair-growth claim of approximately 8,500 new hairs over a 10-week program.

The full range is COSMOS Organic certified by ECOCERT, vegan certified by PETA, and the company has held B Corp certification since 2017 — among the earliest in Austria — supplemented by rePET packaging certification and ABG certification for the ALMA line. Products are sold primarily direct-to-consumer through lessismore.at (with multi-currency checkout supporting EUR, USD, CHF, GBP, and orders shipped internationally) and, in parallel, distributed via professional hair salons and session stylists worldwide, a channel the founders entered from day one given Trummer's background.

Revenue mechanics rest on unit-priced SKU sales with bundle/Set discounting of approximately 15–25%, a Tier ASP ranging roughly $17 (entry-level lip care) to $263 (Alma Mom Hair-Growth Set) and $245 face serums, plus a $339-per-person in-person Parfum Workshop at the Vienna Open Lab (also sold as a gift card). Customer segments are hybrid: a horizontal base of DACH-led conscious consumers and a vertical of professional salons using the products for coloring, styling, and scalp treatments; ALMA adds a use-case vertical targeting expectant mothers, postpartum women, and infants. Distribution is anchored on owned e-commerce plus the Vienna storefront/Open Lab, with editorial brand-building across Vogue, Elle, Brigitte, Harper's Bazaar, and Grazia.

Name

Less is More

Legal name

Less is More

Website

https://lessismore.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Less is More is a Vienna-based, privately-held certified organic cosmetics brand founded in 2007, selling vegan haircare, facecare, bodycare, a Mom & Baby line, and fragrances via DTC e-commerce and professional hair salons across the DACH region and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Certified Organic Vegan Cosmetics

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC), Bath & Shower Products (Soaps, Body Wash, Bath Additives) (CRADANAB), Natural & Clean Fragrance (CRABADAG), Deodorants & Antiperspirants (CRADANAA)

Keywords

• Certified organic cosmetics
• Vegan haircare products
• Biomimetic skincare line
• Clean beauty brand
• Natural fragrance cosmetics

Headquarters

HQ city

Wienau

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (E-commerce & Salon): The primary revenue stream is direct product sales through the company's e-commerce platform (lessismore.at), covering haircare, facecare, bodycare, Alma Mom & Baby, fragrances, and accessories. Products are also distributed through professional hair salons and hairstylists worldwide.
2. Workshops (Parfum Workshop): The company operates in-person perfume workshop experiences at their Vienna Open Lab, guided by founder Dr. Doris Brandhuber. Participants compose a personalized natural perfume from ~60 pure essential oils and take home their handcrafted fragrance. Workshop price is $339 per session.
3. Gift Cards / Workshop Vouchers: The company sells gift cards redeemable for workshops, offered as 'Gutschein Parfum Workshop' at $339, suitable for gifts or team events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Less is More develops, manufactures, and sells a compact range of certified organic, vegan cosmetics — haircare, facecare, bodycare, fragrances, and a mom-and-baby sub-line (ALMA) — formulated through biomimetic science with Alpine plant-derived bio-active ingredients and sold primarily through its own e-commerce platform and professional salon partners. The brand also operates an experiential Parfum Workshop service at its Vienna Open Lab, where customers compose a personalized natural perfume under the guidance of co-founder Dr. Doris Brandhuber.

Product overview

Less is More is a vegan certified organic cosmetics company based in Vienna, Austria, established in 2007. The company offers a compact, modular product portfolio across four main categories: Haircare (shampoos, conditioners, treatments, styling), Facecare (cleansers, toners, creams, serums, masks), Bodycare (washes, creams, deodorants, body mists), and Fragrance (body mists, scented candles). The company also operates the ALMA Clean Mom & Baby Care sub-brand for pregnancy, postpartum, and baby care. Products are biomimetically formulated based on the latest science, combining bio-active ingredients with organic plant extracts. The philosophy emphasizes simplicity and effectiveness, with formulations free from silicones, microplastics, and synthetic additives. The company also offers perfume workshops in their Vienna Open Lab and sells products in Ecosize (recycled packaging) and Travelsize formats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ALMA Clean Mom & Baby Care: A sub-brand under Less is More offering certified organic, biomimetic skincare products specifically formulated for mothers during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as babies and young children. Products are fragrance-free for newborns and nursing mothers, and prebiotic for healthy skin from the start. COSMOS and ABG certified, handmade in Vienna.

Products and services

• Haircare Line Certified organic, vegan haircare product line including volume, balance, moisturizing, color-care, and scalp-relief shampoos, plus conditioners, treatments, and styling products such as Kieselwax styling wax and Tangerine Curl Balm. Developed for both end consumers and professional stylists, formulated with pea protein, vegan keratin, amino acids, and prebiotic ferments without silicones or microplastics.
• Facecare Line Modular certified organic, vegan facial skincare line including Gentle Facial Cream Cleanser, Refining & Hydrating Facial Toner, Protect & Repair Facial Cream, Rich Moisture & Firming Facial Cream, Anti-Oxidant Face Oil, Even Tone Vitamin C Serum, Plumping & Firming Hyaluronic Serum, and De-Stress Eye Cream. Targeted at anti-aging, hydration, skin barrier strengthening, and pore refinement for conscious consumers.
• Bodycare Line Certified organic, vegan bodycare range including Body Wash (e.g., Lemongrass Cypress), Body Cream (e.g., Lavender Atlas Cedar), and aromatherapeutic body products with pure essential oils for deep nourishment, moisture, and microbiome support.
• Parfum Workshop Premium experiential service at the Less is More Open Lab in Vienna where participants, guided by co-founder Dr. Doris Brandhuber, hand-blend a personalized natural perfume from approximately 60 pure essential oils and take home their custom fragrance, a sachet set, and an exclusive workshop discount. Priced at $339 per person and also available as a gift card suitable for gifts or team events.
• ALMA Clean Mom & Baby Care Sub-brand of certified organic, biomimetic skincare products formulated for mothers during pregnancy and postpartum and for babies and young children. Fragrance-free options suitable for newborns and nursing mothers, with prebiotic formulations, including Alma Mom Rosehip Belly Oil for stretch mark prevention, Alma Mom Hair-Growth Set with REDENSYL® for hormonal hair loss, and Alma Baby Gentle Blossom Shampoo & Wash for gentle daily baby care.
• PURE Line (Fragrance-Free Prebiotic Haircare) Fragrance-free, prebiotic haircare line without essential oils or fragrances, positioned as the most sustainable line in the range, designed for sensitive skin and scalp with 9 certified organic products.
• Fragrance Line Natural fragrance product line made from 100% pure essential oils, comprising Body & Room Mists and Scented Candles produced from soot-free plant wax.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 8,500 new hairs in 10 weeks (Alma Mom Hair-Growth Set with REDENSYL®)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Santa Maria Novella: Historic Italian natural perfumery and cosmetics house with a comparable fragrance + skincare premium positioning and workshop/heritage experience-led brand. Relevant comparable for Less is More's parfum workshop strategy and natural-fragrance product line.

Broad incumbents

• Kevin Murphy: Australian professional salon haircare brand with global salon distribution. Comparable salon-channel strategy and premium positioning, but broader portfolio and significantly larger scale; competes for the same professional stylist endorsement.
• Lavera: German certified-natural cosmetics brand with broad face/body/hair portfolio at mainstream premium price points. Comparable on German-market certified-organic positioning, though operating at a more mass-premium scale than Less is More.
• Weleda: Swiss-founded natural cosmetics incumbent with broad certified-natural product lines across face, body, baby, and aromatherapy. Comparable on the certified-organic / NATRUE positioning and DACH heritage, but operates at far greater scale and global retail penetration than Less is More.
• Davines: Italian professional haircare brand with strong salon channel presence and a B Corp certification since 2016. Comparable on professional-salon distribution, sustainability positioning, and premium pricing — but at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Oway: Italian professional organic haircare brand sold primarily through salons with a similar 'professional-first, organic-certified' ethos. Most direct competitor on the salon-professional + certified-organic haircare axis.
• Tabitha James Kraan: UK-based organic hairdresser-founded haircare brand with a salon-first, certified-organic positioning. Closely comparable on the founder-hairstylist + certified-organic + salon-channel model that Less is More also embodies.
• Rahua: US premium clean haircare brand built around plant-derived Amazonian bio-actives. Comparable on the premium, naturally derived, performance-positioned haircare thesis, with overlapping celebrity-stylist endorsement channels.
• Innersense Organic Beauty: US-based certified-organic, salon-professional haircare brand with similar clean-beauty positioning and use of naturally derived bio-actives. Comparable product philosophy and salon channel strategy, though skewed to the US market.
• Dr. Hauschka: German natural cosmetics brand with a similarly certified-organic, professional-positioned portfolio spanning facecare, bodycare, and selected haircare. Closely comparable on certification ethos, premium pricing, and salon/spa distribution channels — and a key European competitor Less is More benchmarks against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lessismore.at
• Instagraminstagram.com/lessismorenews
• Xx.com/lessismorenews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/less-is-more-organic-cosmetics

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Less is More