Christian Baatz, the founder’s great-grandson, was recently in the country and spoke of his great-grandfather’s legacy, “The company has changed so much over time,” he says. “When [my great-grandfather] started as a pharmacist, he probably had no idea that we would end up in the business of aesthetic medicine. In the beginning, he was preparing formulas and creams in his kitchen at home. There, he would experiment and make custom preparations for friends, family, and customers at his pharmacy.” Baatz adds that his great-grandfather listened to his customers, attuning himself to their specific requirements. “He was always asking ‘What do patients need?’ He kept himself busy making things that were needed. He was always interested in innovation.” The same could also be said of Baatz, who holds a master’s degree in business administration, and other members of the Merz family. Even today, they are committed to learning about the needs of their target market and how they can improve on these.

This drive to meet the needs of patients led to the development of a number of unique products, including Ultherapy®, a US FDA cleared non-invasive procedure that uses micro-focused ultrasound with visualisation (MFU-V) which revolutionised the field of aesthetic medicine and made it more appealing to the public.