The thermal bathing and spa culture of Hungary is a treasure trove extending back centuries. The waters that run through the country’s capital, Budapest, have an especially high mineral content, due to a deep fissure in the land as the result of a tectonic collision. Subterranean waters gather these minerals on their way to the surface. To this day, doctors prescribe different types of mineral baths to aid with health troubles, while during the Roman era, the calcium, magnesium, zinc, and sulfur in the baths were known to speed up physical recovery for soldiers.
Building on this legacy, the Omorovicza family founded the Rácz Fürdő thermal bath in 1861, renovated by architect Miklós Ybl, and erected on the site of an Ottoman bath from the 1560s. Fast forward to the turn of the millennium, and it was in this city that Stephen de Heinrich de Omorovicza, who was a former solicitor at Ashurst and Senior Director at pan-European website network Lycos Europe, met his soon-to-be wife Margaret, a Chief of Staff at the US Embassy.
Sharing in the dermatological and well-being benefits of the Rácz Fürdő baths, they founded Omorovicza in 2006 to bring Budapest’s bathing culture and the benefits of its unique water to a wider audience. The couple worked with the dermatology and allergology laboratories at Albert St. George University—founded by Nobel Prize winner Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrápolt, who was the first to isolate vitamin C—to test the quality of the Rácz water, finding an especially high amount of magnesium among its 26 different minerals.
They then developed and patented Omorovicza’s Healing Concentrate, tapping into the antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory benefits of the water, which boost levels of hydration and proteins like collagen. By biofermenting the water (with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast), these minerals become more bioavailable to the skin. The Healing Concentrate is a proprietary ingredient across the entire brand range.
Today found in over 353 stores and 80 spas, Omorovicza combines the experiential wellness of its origin country’s spa culture with the ever-evolving science of skincare, offering customers luxury products and treatments that are as efficacious as they are sensory.
“Budapest in and of itself conjures up images which are ancient and then there's the science, the Healing Concentrate, and the cutting-edge ingredients that we use, which brings modernity into the picture. It is the combination of this ancient phenomenon that's been there forever, way before many of us were and which we're able to tap into through science,” de Heinrich de Omorovicza tells BeautyMatter.
Luxury with a Point of View
Omorovicza first took root in a standalone spa space in Budapest, a modest but thriving site for treatments. “Hungarians grow up going to the baths and eventually they go on to treatments at the baths, which of course includes your face. That's how that becomes the anchor of your beauty regime. Famously, the best beauty therapists would have been from Eastern Europe, and it's because the beauty schools are very serious, it takes about three years before they unleash you onto somebody's face. Hungarian traditions involve very regular treatments, preferably with the same therapist so that they can escort your skin progress through life,” he explains. “There's this wonderful notion of progress over time and evolution towards your best skin because you're just reacting to what your skin is presenting rather than taking a product which you love the look of, but it may not be perfect for you.”
Not only do these sites offer the most firsthand form of customer research, but spa therapists have also helped guide the brand’s product development. De Heinrich de Omorovicza states that the development process is either fulfilling a need that their spa therapists are requiring to do a new treatment, something they haven’t met in their current product lineup, or a new ingredient they are eager to share with their shopper.
“The actual chemistry of it is so exciting, but that's only worth doing if we're really addressing the need of our customers, and if we're able to introduce it in such a way that the customer immediately gets it, wants it, uses it, loves it, comes back for more,” he says. “First of all, is this a real need? Secondly, is there something new we can say?”
When it came to introducing the brand to a wider audience, finding distribution was the brand’s first big hurdle. “Way back when, the appetite for products from unusual provenance wasn't what it is today. Budapest did not seem to inspire people as a place from which skincare came. That today, again, it's table stakes everywhere, but back then it did mean a lot of resistance from all the skepticism. It was great that we had our own little spa in Budapest, and we could start there immediately,” he recalls.
A pivotal moment came when Margaret presented the brand to Neiman Marcus, which launched the brand to the US in 2010, followed by other prestigious retailers like Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman. From the onset, Omorovicza emphasized an ingredient philosophy of formulating with 100% natural ingredients where possible, and excluding parabens, silicones, phthalates, oxybenzone, and talc from its products.
“So much of what Stephen and I do is driven by curiosity. We were the first to go into Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman excluding all those synthetic ingredients. We don't make a judgment on whether synthetic ingredients are good or not. We just think luxury is at its best when it's a point of view. It's our point of view,” she says.
Launching in 2009, the Queen of Hungary Mist, an alcohol-free and oil-free facial spray with orange blossom, sage, and rose distillates (as per the 14th century recipe), plus apple pectins to prevent transepidermal water loss, instantly became a bestseller and drove extra attention towards the brand. Their other top two bestsellers are the Rejuvenating Night Cream (which contains hazelnut peptides, apricot kernel oil, and carrot oil to nourish the skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles) and the Queen Serum, despite only launching in February of 2024.
Today the US is their biggest market especially when it comes to online, with 70% of their online sales taking place in the region. The UK is another substantial region, with great performance in Australia and the Middle East. As for distribution, 51% of their business is in traditional wholesale retail, 13% in the spa channel, 28% through their own ecommerce, and 8% through their Institutes.
Expanding on Experiential Possibilities
In 2021 Omorovicza replaced its debut spa in Budapest with the brand’s first Institute. Designed with natural limestone, deep blue resins, and flesh-toned tiling, it pays homage to the Rácz space, while copper details and ironmongery were chosen to reflect the Ottoman heritage of the historical site.
In November 2023, the brand opened its second Institute in the heart of Mayfair in London. Created in partnership with designers Ed Milton and Tina Vaia of EJM Studio, the Mayfar Institute is a 1,600-square-foot space that offers a boutique on the ground floor, plus two treatment rooms, a relaxation space, and courtyard on the lower floor. Visitors are offered six different Skin Therapy Sessions, catering to needs ranging from improved skin glow to detoxification, incorporating Hungarian massage (which includes finger drumming and pressure to boost lymphatic drainage and improve skin tone).
“Sometimes you have to tell the story without words. With a place like the Budapest or Mayfair Institute by making the [design] choices [that you make], you can draw people into your story and create a point of difference,” he states. “The other main reason for these institutes and working in a spa as much as we do is that the ultimate experience of the brand is one of our treatments performed by one of our therapists, preferably in one of our spaces. Then it is fully immersive. And chances are you will be given exactly the right product so that will enhance your experience of the brand after the treatment as well.”
It’s not only their own spas where the brand is growing a loyal following. Omorovicza can be found in luxury hotel spas like the Four Seasons and St. Regis. “I absolutely love the spa channels. If you go to a lovely spa and they really carefully consider the flow and the experience of the customer, it's tough to beat that feeling. But also it provides legitimacy to a brand, which is ultimately about the experience provided in thermal baths,” he explains.
In February 2023, the brand announced the debut of the Advanced Skin Renewal Booster in partnership with Hydrafacial, which is also offered onsite at its Institutes and professional providers worldwide. “Omorovicza is an icon in beauty, known for its rich products and a luxurious approach to skincare. We are so pleased to partner on this latest booster. Omorovicza’s heritage formulations, combined with Hydrafacial’s cutting-edge technology, is a visionary match for modern skin health,” then BeautyHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Stanleick stated at the time of the announcement.
In partnership with luxury London hotel Claridge's, the co-founders developed a two-hour, £390 ($495), treatment performed on a heated pink onyx table, adding similar design elements to their London space into the treatment room. The treatment, launched in June 2024, includes a Hungarian body massage, which is inspired by ballet movements and includes a mud facial using Omorovicza’s Hungarian Moor Mud collection, the namesake ingredient of which contains calcium and magnesium carbonates, humic acids, and fulvic acids to decongest the skin and increase cell turnover. It is sourced from the largest thermal lake in Europe, Lake Héviz.
"We are honored to have created a unique ritualistic experience with Omorovicza, inspired by centuries of Hungarian bathing tradition. Not only are we delighted to be working with Margaret and Stephen de Heinrich (two long-standing friends of Claridge’s), but the synergy between the design of The Pink Room and The Omorovicza Mayfair Institute, inspired by the Rácz in Budapest, means that this partnership feels particularly special and serendipitous," Hattie David-Wilkinson, Director of Spa at Claridge’s, commented at the unveiling.
When it comes to choosing their retail and spa partnerships, the co-founder emphasizes the importance of a firsthand connection with the product. “If you can't find a level on which you really connect and they're going to give you space to shine, then it's not very wise to embark on a relationship because you may end up being diluted in your message or being presented in a way that really doesn't suit you,” he says. “In spa, it's even more important that your spa director and your lead estheticians buy into what you're doing. If they don't, that's completely fair enough. But then maybe it's not worth pushing because they need to really adopt and endorse the product.”
The direct-to-consumer channel, which has included a recent website relaunch done in-house, is another avenue of growing possibilities. “What's really exciting is this amazing journey of a direct-to-consumer—as the numbers show, we're still very much a wholesale brand, but it's pivoting—is it’s a real challenge thinking, in how many more ways can we create a customer journey which is both digital and physical, but which has much more focus on the experience of Omorovicza, the experience of a spa, and decode that in a way that allows people, even digitally, to access the sensoriality,” he says.
Continued Innovation for the Future
As Omorovicza approaches its second decade in business, its founders are continuing to double down on scientific innovation. For Q1 2025, they are launching the Blue Diamond Super Serum, which targets senescent cells and boosts ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels to increase cell repair and generation, thanks to ingredients like diamond peptides and hollyhock flower stem cells. In April 2025, they will be unveiling Elixir, a serum with a quadruple dose of the Healing Concentrate, plus sage extract, pumpkin seed extract, and sunflower sprout extract to boost collagen and skin resilience while reducing redness.
Throughout the entire journey, the brand has been self-funded. “The funny thing about not having outside investment, it's a real luxury and I don't think we do it any differently. There is something to be said though for having advice [from investors]. We've been very lucky that a few senior industry people have taken an interest and provided the knowledge that you simply can't acquire,” he says. “On the other hand, if you're going to forego outside investors investment, you really have no choice but to focus as much as you possibly can because you can't afford to try 15 different marketing avenues. Being nimble is super important and also having a pretty lean staff. Having no outside investment keeps you on your toes, there's no question.”
Keeping its operations and marketing team in-house has been part of upholding that nimble and lean approach. The unique history and culture underlying the brand has been a competitive advantage even through challenging economic times, and continuing to find exciting new ways to expand on this story is the basis of Omorovicza’s path moving forward.
For the year ahead, the brand will be repackaging their entire collection to further incorporate the Hungarian heritage of the brand, working with Michael Nash Associates on the designs. The colorways have been curated to represent the Rácz Fürdő thermal bath and unique geology of Budapest, with 100% recyclable glass containers, 50% post-consumer recycled plastic lids, plus recycled paper stock and nonpaper card for boxes. “The new packaging mirrors Omorovicza’s evolution as a brand, in addition to our take on modern luxury in 2025,” the founders state.
In the coming year and beyond, the Omorovicza legacy and history will continue to unfold in new and exciting ways, whether its inside the tranquil walls of their Budapest or Mayfair Institute, the treatment room of a luxury spa, or the enticing aisles (be they digital or physical) of a leading retailer, bringing the beauty of Hungarian spa culture to existing and new customers alike.
