Our Purpose
Our purpose is to empower all people to walk the way nature intended.
Our Vision
Our vision is to give all people access to an anatomically correct footbed.
Our Mission
To achieve our vision, we organize our business to adhere to the highest quality standards while striving to reduce our impact on our environment.
A brand with purpose
These days, many companies endeavor to sell themselves as the providers of purpose. The idea is that the “brand purpose” will give the company and its brands appeal. Customers, business partners and employees will then feel like they are being spoken to on an emotional level, encouraging them to support the company more than before. That’s the theory, at least.
A huge amount of hype has built up around “purpose marketing,” leading to the creation of an entire consultancy industry. Marketing strategists engage in workshops to get to the bottom of a brand’s more profound purpose – even though there perhaps actually isn’t one in the first place or, realistically speaking, it possibly seems a little overambitious, if not to say somewhat phony.
The resultant empty phrases sound accordingly generic. Allow us to give a few examples. “To improve the quality of life” (come on, what company wouldn’t want to make this claim?), “To make sustainable living commonplace” (sustainability meets purpose – Caution! Risk of greenwashing!), or – they can be even more bombastic – “To expand the limits of human possibilities” (no, this grandiose marketing phrase didn’t come from the mouth of the inventor of a supercomputer with superhuman abilities, but from that of a sporting goods manufacturer).
Seen in this way, the term “brand purpose” comes close to being toxic, and is out. The term should therefore be used sparingly. Meanwhile, without wishing to sound arrogant, the situation is different at Birkenstock.
It wasn’t marketing strategists who came up with the Birkenstock purpose on the drawing board. Rather, our brand’s more profound purpose reflects a promise which satisfies a deeply human need, namely to walk on a natural surface. A promise which is founded on evidence-based observations generated by the “Birkenstock system” over several generations and which earned its credibility in the street – through the positive product experiences of millions of people around the globe.
“To empower all people to walk as nature intended” is not a marketing cliché. It is the promise we make to humankind. No more, but also no less.
Innovation as part of the Family DNA
At the turn of the 20th century, Konrad Birkenstock, direct descendant of German shoemakers Johannes and Johann Adam Birkenstock revolutionized the industry.
Konrad’s inventions of the contoured shoe last and the flexible insole were groundbreaking innovations. His legacy inspired the concept of “Naturgewolltes Gehen” to walk as nature intended. This led to the evolution of the “ideal shoe”, Birkenstock’s vision of the perfect healthy shoe and inspired later on the invention of the Birkenstock footbed sandal.
The philosophy of “Naturgewolles Gehen” continues to shape our actions generations later and guides our three core values.
Our core values
Function
We follow a function-first philosophy. Functionality and usability are the focus points of our product creation. A form that allows for function creates an indissoluble unity in all our products and sets the framework for our recognizable aesthetic signature.
Our footbed represents the epitome of healthy footwear. Its function is the guiding principle in everything we do and sets the framework for our distinctive design signature. We are the inventor of the footbed.
Quality
Birkenstock is synonymous with quality. Our products are made to endure, they comprise responsibly sourced highest quality materials and are meticulously crafted in our own production facilities. The quality of our products can be felt in their longevity and durability, and a tactile product experience, which puts the health of our feet first.
Tradition
Birkenstock is a company with an exceptional heritage. With our origins dating back to the year 1774, Birkenstock’s brand is built on two and a half centuries of a family tradition in shoemaking.
It’s these core values that set us apart.
