The first Korres product was an aromatic herbal throat-soothing syrup with honey and aniseed; a recipe inspired by ‘rakomelon’, a warming spirit-with-honey concoction, which George’s grandfather used to make in his hometown on the island of Naxos. Today the Korres portfolio includes over 400 natural and certified organic products, with brand presence in 30 markets. In addition to the stand-alone Korres stores – over 25 stores worldwide in the cities of Athens, New York, Paris, Madrid and Singapore amongst others – the brand’s products can also be found at exclusive department stores in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Milan, Berlin, Sydney, Hong Kong and in over 5,500 pharmacies in its homeland, Greece.
GEORGE KORRES
George - or Giorgos - Korres, an Evangelical School graduate, went on to study at the Pharmacy School of the University of Athens. While still a student (1988), he started working at Greece’s oldest homeopathic pharmacy; he eventually bought the pharmacy (1992) and within the next five years, he set-up a homeopathic-remedy- production lab. In 1996, having developed a deep understanding and knowledge of natural ingredients and their application in over 3,000 herbal remedies, he created Korres Natural Products, with a view to producing safe, clinically effective, and affordable natural skincare products of interesting design.
Giorgos is involved in brand development and research in collaboration with the National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens University and various worldwide research centres. His ongoing effort is to utilize valuable, clinically efficacious, endemic Greek herbs; to do so he is cooperating with local communities, agricultural unions and organic farmers.
LENA KORRES
Lena Korres, a Chemical Engineer joined Korres in 1996. Lena, now a mother of two, was the first person to be hired at the company and played a crucial role in setting & positioning the brand literally from its birth out of Athens’ first ever homeopathic pharmacy.
Having held a number of strategic posts at Korres, she is currently the Brand Development Director for Korres. Working closely with the group’s 50-strong R&D team, Lena is involved in the overall product development process. Her greatest ‘beauty’ challenge to date was the development of the Korres yoghurt skincare line which contains yoghurt in its edible form. The development of a stable cosmetic formula preserving all of‘live’ yoghurt’s benefits was a scientific and innovative achievement as well as a global first for the cosmetics industry. Lena was recently shortlisted by the CEW's (Cosmetic Executive Women) United Kingdom Board for the Achiever Awards 2007.
Wallpaper*, the internationally acclaimed design lifestyle magazine for urban modernists and global navigators alike, in its 10th anniversary issue featured Lena & George Korres as two of the world’s top 40 influencers under the age of 40.