The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Marketing decision · 1994–2025
Granado turned a 124-year-old 'grandma brand' into a premium global heritage house
Freeman rebuilt Brazil's dusty talc maker Granado around its own history — retro stores, in-house design, a Paris flagship — lifting revenue to R$1.8bn.
Granado (Granado Pharmácias)
the move
In 1994 Christopher Freeman, an English auditor hired to sell the 124-year-old Rio pharmacy Granado, found no buyers — the company had essentially made one product, antiseptic talc, for 90 years. He borrowed US$8 million and bought it himself. Competitors called it 'grandma's brand.'
His repositioning began around 2005: a concept store opened at Granado's original 1870 address, decorated with the pharmacy's century-old fixtures; packaging went retro and colorful; and 99% of product development, packaging and store design stayed in-house. Products were priced two to three times above mass rivals, with no traditional advertising — only partnerships with high-end hotels and spas.
The heritage became exportable: Granado opened its first Paris store in 2017 and used its European presence to re-value the brand at home. Revenue climbed from R$380 million in 2014 to R$1.83 billion in 2025, with an EBITDA margin of 23% and 104 stores in Brazil plus nine abroad.
why it works
- The brand's own 150-year archive was a differentiation competitors could not buy.
- Retro stores and packaging made history visible and premium, not dusty.
- In-house design and production kept the aesthetic consistent and the margins high.
- A Paris flagship changed how Brazilians saw a brand they had written off.
what transfers
A brand everyone thinks is outdated can be repositioned by making the heritage itself the product — authentic retro design, controlled distribution and premium prices beat trying to look young.
what came after
Granado separated its sister brand Phebo into its own stores in 2026 — the same logic of 'brands with their own history need their own space' — and acquired clean-beauty label Care in 2024. With 143 owned stores planned for 2026 and further US and European openings, the once-orphaned pharmacy is Brazil's heritage-beauty benchmark.
references
- Os segredos de uma farmácia do séc 19 que está com tudo no séc 21
- Granado, a marca da vovó, agora é pop
- Após faturar R$ 1,8 bilhão, Granado separa marcas e Phebo ganha vida própria
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.