Why is Sterillium® blue?

A colourful journey through fun facts and reveries

Sterillium bottle in front of sky with suggested rainbow Sterillium bottle in front of sky with suggested rainbow
Sterillium Hands

Blue World

The truth is, the colour of our iconic bottles is quite simple to explain.

When the first bottle of Sterillium® rolled off the production line in Hamburg 56 years ago, its emblematic composition was undoubtedly the foundation of a bright future for hand hygiene. The idea to colour Sterillium® blue and fill it in very characteristic bottles initially served to make it unmistakable. The colour blue radiates calm and confidence - two characteristics that Sterillium® carries within itself and into the world.

But what if there is much more than really good marketing behind the blue colour of Sterillium®? Come along on a journey that uncovers the deep blue secrets of an icon.


From the production line…

Every day, around 47 tonnes* of Sterillium® leave the BODE Chemie plant in Hamburg-Stellingen, delivering hygiene to the remotest regions. Given such quantities, do you think it's possible for a bottle to hop off the production line to go off in search of answers to its most existential queries in the moonlight above Altona? Oh yes, it is!

Illustration Sterillium factory Hamburg
*Data prior to the corona pandemic

… to the bar…

Why is Sterillium® blue? Like others before her, our bottle finds the first clues under the cool flickering lights of the Reeperbahn that might bring some clarity to her crisis of self. Still, she senses that there is much more to her than ethanol.

Sterillium bottle on the Hamburg Reeperbahn

…to the riverfront.

She departs from the party strip and gets herself a hot dog down at the harbour. The little blue bottle has a change of heart when she not only sees herself reflected in the currents of the Elbe, but also recognises herself. In the rushing blue of the river, she is on the right track.

Illustration Sterillium® bottle on the Elbe in Hamburg
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And then something unforgettable happened…
Completely captivated by the blue, the little Sterillium® bottle follows the river and becomes lost in musings. She thinks of everything that is blue and that could possibly be connected to her. The indigo blue jeans are a reliable classic, an icon of the 1960s - just like Sterillium®. Under the light, finely cut diamonds sparkle in blue, so do little checkmarks under delivered love messages on a mobile phone display, roses are red, but forget-me-nots are blue - and if taking care of proper hand hygiene with Sterillium® is not a grand gesture of love, then we have already forgotten what this story is actually about...
Illustration Sterillium® bottle in sunny field of forget-me-nots

The blue bottle follows the blue river until it flows into the wide, blue North Sea. Below and above it are blue lights, blue currents. Blue like the jeans, the diamonds, the love notes in the telephone, blue like those flowers - how can they help it that we can' t forget them? On the contrary, we know now why the little bottle is blue: she is...

Sky blue

... blue like the sky above her. Full of hope, endless dreams and boundless freedom.

Illustration blue sky

Sea blue

... blue like the sea before her, without which there would be no life, no people. It reminds us of the mission to love and protect what Mother Nature gives us.

Illustration blue sea

Sterillium® blue

... blue like Sterillium®. With its unmistakable colour and proven effectiveness - a companion on all journeys and a beacon of hope in all moments that require special protection through proper hand hygiene.

Illustration blue Sterillium bottle
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Use disinfectants safely. Always read label and product information before use.

“HWG-Pflichttexte” for our Sterillium® range in English and German, also below in the footer.

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