Nivea (pronounced [niˈveːaː]) is a German personal care brand, that specializes in skin- and body-care brand that is owned by the Hamburg based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on March 28, 1882, by pharmacist Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1900, the new owner Oscar Troplowitz developed a water-in-oil emulsion as a skin cream with Eucerit, the first stable emulsion of its kind. This was the basis for Eucerin and later, Nivea.