In 1977, Miguel Krigsner, a Bolivian immigrant, opened a small pharmacy in Curitiba, Brazil. He ordered pharmaceutical ingredients from a supplier. The supplier mistakenly sent perfume essences instead. Krigsner was stuck with a shipment he could not use for medicine.
Instead of discarding the essences, Krigsner experimented with them. He created fragrances and sold them in the pharmacy. The perfumes were an unexpected hit. Customers who came in for prescriptions started buying the fragrances instead. The pharmacy's side business was soon outselling its main business.
Krigsner pivoted the business. He converted the pharmacy into a cosmetics store and opened the first O Boticário franchise in 1980. By 1982, he had opened a manufacturing plant. The company grew rapidly across Brazil, becoming the country's second-largest cosmetics brand.
O Boticário expanded internationally, reaching over 40 countries with 4,000 stores. By 2026, Miguel Krigsner owned 80% of the company, with a net worth of $6.8 billion. A pharmacy became a cosmetics empire — all because of a wrong shipment.
Krigsner sold the essences as fragrances; customers loved them, so he pivoted to cosmetics, growing to 4,000 stores.
Krigsner opened a pharmacy in 1977 — a supplier accidentally sent perfume essences instead of pharmaceutical ingredients, forcing him to pivot to fragrances
The perfumes were an unexpected hit with customers — the wrong shipment became the product that defined the business
O Boticário grew from a single pharmacy to 4,000 stores in 40+ countries — the accidental purchase launched a cosmetics empire
Miguel Krigsner opened a pharmacy. A supplier sent perfume essences by mistake. The wrong shipment became a cosmetics empire with 4,000 stores.
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