STENDERS is a Latvian natural cosmetics brand founded in 2001 in Riga by Janis Berzins and Zane Berzina, who positioned the brand around bath, body, and home fragrance products using natural ingredients with a strong sensorial in-store experience. The brand remains privately held by the founding partners and operates as a standalone company without major external investment, supported by in-house production at the Latvian manufacturing facility. STENDERS operates a sister brand, BOTANICA, focused on more clinically oriented natural skincare.
The brand competes most directly with Lush in the experiential natural cosmetics segment, with a comparable emphasis on bath bombs, solid bars, hand creams, body oils, and home fragrance products supported by theatrical in-store demonstrations. Production runs in Latvia with ingredient sourcing from European agricultural partners. The brand exited Russia and CIS markets following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, marking a significant footprint reduction given those markets historically represented a meaningful share of international sales.
STENDERS operates approximately 300 stores across 25+ countries, with strongest concentration in the Baltics, Continental Europe, and selected Asian markets (notably Hong Kong, Singapore, and Southeast Asia). The brand reaches consumers through directly run stores, master franchise partnerships in international markets, and e-commerce. For mall operators in core Eastern European and Asian markets, STENDERS is a mid-mall experiential cosmetics counterparty with selective expansion appetite, with leasing decisions for directly operated markets handled through the Riga commercial team and franchise-market decisions handled by regional partners. Store footprints typically run 30 to 80 square meters.
