Tempo is a German-origin paper-tissue and consumer-hygiene brand best known for its pocket tissues and facial tissues. Founded in 1929, it is widely recognised as the first German paper-handkerchief brand. Today, Tempo is owned by Essity, a Swedish global hygiene and health company, and is sold in various European and Asian markets.1

Essity currently lists Tempo among its major Consumer Tissue brands alongside Lotus, Zewa, Cushelle, and Plenty.

1929: The Beginning

The history of Tempo began in Germany in 1929. Brothers Oskar Rosenfelder and Emil Rosenfelder, who were associated with Vereinigte Papierwerke AG, developed the concept of a disposable paper handkerchief made from cellulose. The Tempo trademark was registered on January 29, 1929, in Berlin. Essity cites this date as the patent or registration of the Tempo paper handkerchief, marking the official start of the brand’s history.

This innovation addressed a practical need: unlike traditional cloth handkerchiefs that required washing and ironing, a paper handkerchief could be used once and discarded. The name “Tempo” was chosen to reflect the spirit of the era, symbolising speed, modernity, and a rapidly changing lifestyle.2

1930s–1960s: Mass Adoption

Over subsequent decades, Tempo transformed the paper handkerchief from a novelty item into an everyday consumer staple. Historical records indicate significant production growth: approximately 150 million Tempo products were produced in 1935, rising to roughly 1 billion in 1955 and exceeding 4 billion in 1962.3 This expansion helped establish Tempo as a household name in Germany.

1970s: Product Design Innovation

A key innovation during this period was Tempo’s distinctive folding system. The company introduced a folding design that allowed users to open the tissue packet with one hand, enhancing convenience and differentiating the product from standard paper tissues.4 In the decades that followed, Tempo continued to introduce variations in fragrance, softness, strength, packaging, and format.

2001: Acquisition by SCA

Ownership of the brand eventually transferred to the Swedish hygiene and forest-products company SCA, which acquired Tempo in 2001.5 SCA subsequently built a substantial international Consumer Tissue business around brands including Tempo, Lotus, and Zewa.

2017: Transition to Essity

A major corporate restructuring occurred in 2017 when SCA separated its hygiene and health business from its forest-products operations. The hygiene and health division became the independent company Essity, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm on June 15, 2017. Tempo then became part of Essity’s Consumer Tissue portfolio.

Although historically associated with pocket handkerchiefs, Tempo has significantly expanded its range. Its current product portfolio may include:

• Pocket tissues and paper handkerchiefs
• Facial tissues
• Box tissues
• Wet tissues
• Toilet tissue
• Other consumer-tissue formats depending on the market

Essity defines Consumer Tissue as encompassing toilet paper, household towels, handkerchiefs, facial tissues, wet wipes, and napkins. In China, for example, Essity and Vinda present Tempo products under the Chinese name 得宝, covering categories such as paper handkerchiefs, soft-pack tissues, box tissues, and wet tissues. In Italy, Tempo expanded into toilet paper beginning in 2010.6

Tempo’s central value proposition has historically been the combination of softness and strength. Rather than competing solely as a low-cost commodity, Tempo positions itself as a higher-quality, dependable tissue brand. Essity describes Tempo in Italy as offering a blend of resistance and softness, highlighting the brand’s reputation for balancing these two attributes.

This positioning addresses the seemingly contradictory characteristics consumers evaluate in tissues:

• Softness against the skin
• Tensile strength
• Absorbency
• Thickness
• Resistance to tearing
• Portability
• Fragrance or freshness
• Packaging and appearance

Tempo has built much of its identity around resolving the trade-off between softness and strength.

One notable characteristic of Tempo is that the brand name became closely associated with the product category itself. In Germany, “Tempo” became so strongly linked to paper handkerchiefs that the term is often used colloquially to refer to paper tissues generally, including those made by competitors. This is an example of genericisation, where a trademark becomes widely understood as the name of a product category.

While this represents a significant marketing achievement, it also presents a trademark-management challenge: as a brand becomes more generic, maintaining its distinctiveness as a registered trademark becomes increasingly difficult.

Tempo has traditionally maintained a highly recognisable visual identity. For decades, the brand’s red-and-white packaging and distinctive Tempo wordmark have been synonymous with German paper tissues. Essity notes that the Tempo lettering and packaging design remained largely unchanged from the 1950s until recent modernisation efforts.6

Instead of frequently reinventing its image, Tempo has historically relied on visual continuity to communicate trust and familiarity. In 2025, Essity introduced a refreshed look for the traditional Tempo brand, describing the redesign as an effort to combine the brand’s long heritage with a more modern identity while retaining core values of trust, strength, and care.6

Despite being nearly a century old, Tempo continues to introduce product innovations.

One-Hand Opening

The distinctive folding arrangement introduced in the 20th century made the tissue easier to open with one hand.7

Stronger Tissues

Tempo has developed tissues designed to withstand greater mechanical stress. Essity has specifically promoted versions capable of surviving a washing-machine cycle if accidentally left in a pocket.

Fragranced Products

The brand has introduced fragranced tissues and products incorporating ingredients such as eucalyptus oil in selected markets.8

Wet Tissue and Other Formats

Tempo has expanded beyond traditional dry handkerchiefs into wet tissue and other consumer-tissue categories.9

Tempo began as a distinctly German brand but has since become international. Essity identifies Tempo as a leading brand in several European markets, with a presence in countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong.

Germany

Germany remains one of Tempo’s most important markets. Essity describes Tempo as the market leader in tissues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Italy

Tempo is regarded as one of the best-known and most highly respected tissue brands in the Italian market, particularly noted for its perceived quality.

Hong Kong and China

Tempo has developed a significant presence in Greater China. In mainland China, the brand is marketed as 得宝 (Dé Bǎo) and is associated with a premium tissue positioning. Vinda’s Tempo page describes the brand as a German premium tissue brand originating in 1929.

The Chinese name for Tempo is 得宝. According to Chinese reference sources, the brand entered Hong Kong in 1997 and mainland China in 2009.

In China, Tempo is positioned somewhat differently from its original German identity. It is often marketed as a premium lifestyle and tissue brand, with considerable emphasis on:

• Premium paper quality
• Softness and thickness
• Sophisticated packaging
• Lifestyle imagery
• Design
• Gifting
• Artistic and cultural collaborations

Vinda’s official Tempo page describes the brand as a German premium tissue brand founded in 1929, noting its long sales history in European markets and Hong Kong. This illustrates brand localisation, where the same historical brand occupies a different cultural position in different countries.

Tempo is part of Essity AB, a Swedish multinational specialising in hygiene and health products. Essity’s portfolio includes brands such as:

• Tempo
• TENA
• Tork
• Zewa
• Lotus
• Cushelle
• Plenty
• Libresse
• Libero
• Actimove
• Leukoplast
• JOBST

Essity reported approximately SEK 138 billion in net sales in 2025, with approximately 36,000 employees, and sells products in around 150 countries. Consequently, Tempo is no longer an independent German manufacturer but a brand within a larger global hygiene company.

There is an important distinction between ownership and local manufacturing or distribution. In Greater China, Tempo is associated with Vinda International, a major Chinese tissue company. Vinda’s official website presents Tempo/得宝 as part of its product portfolio while stating that Essity retains ownership of the Tempo brand rights.

In simplified terms, Tempo is a brand owned by Essity that is marketed and operated in certain Chinese markets through the Vinda/Essity structure. This explains why Chinese consumers may encounter Tempo branding alongside Vinda even though the ultimate global brand owner is Essity.

As part of Essity, Tempo operates within the group’s broader sustainability strategy. Essity states that its Consumer Tissue business is addressing issues including:

• Reducing waste
• Reducing carbon emissions
• Sustainable materials
• Improving resource efficiency
• Optimising production and supply chains

Tempo’s sustainability initiatives are therefore best understood in the context of Essity’s corporate environmental and sourcing policies rather than as an entirely independent programme.

Based on Essity’s descriptions, Tempo can be understood through several recurring values:

Reliability

A Tempo tissue is intended to perform effectively when needed, whether for colds, allergies, emotional moments, or everyday messes.

Strength

Strength is one of the brand’s defining functional characteristics.

Softness

Softness is equally important, particularly because the product is frequently used on sensitive facial skin.

Convenience

The original disposable-paper concept was based on making the handkerchief more convenient than a reusable cloth alternative.

Innovation

Tempo has repeatedly modified folding, materials, strength, fragrances, formats, and packaging throughout its history.

Heritage

Its nearly century-long history is a significant component of its brand equity.

From a marketing perspective, Tempo demonstrates how a simple commodity product can become a powerful consumer brand. Paper tissues are typically low-involvement products that consumers do not research extensively before purchase. Yet Tempo has established strong differentiation through:

1. Brand recognition
2. Consistent packaging
3. Perceived product quality
4. German heritage
5. Long history
6. Product innovation
7. Premium positioning in selected markets
8. High mental availability

Its greatest asset may be that consumers associate its name directly with the category of paper handkerchiefs.

Tempo is essentially a 20th-century German invention that evolved into a global premium tissue brand. Its trajectory is notable because the product itself is extremely simple, yet the brand accumulated enormous cultural recognition. Starting with disposable paper handkerchiefs in 1929, Tempo helped establish a new everyday hygiene habit and eventually became so strongly associated with paper tissues in Germany that its name entered everyday language.

Today, nearly a century later, Tempo is no longer a standalone German company. It is a major Essity Consumer Tissue brand, with products and positioning adapted to different markets around the world. In Europe, it retains its strong heritage and tissue-market reputation, while in China it has developed a particularly prominent premium/lifestyle positioning under the name 得宝.

1. Esempi di marchi
2. 95 Jahre Tempo – Die Taschentuch-Ikone feiert seine Erfolgsgeschichte
3. Erfolgsgeschichte auch dank Essity-Werk Neuss: Tempo wird 90 Jahre
4. 得宝Tempo-德国高端纸巾品牌
5. Tempo (brand)
6. Traditionsmarke Tempo im neuen Look
7. Thương hiệu Tempo của nước nào? Đánh giá chi tiết có tốt không?
8. DeWiki > Tempo (Marke)
9. Thương Hiệu Tempo Chính Hãng, Giá Tốt | Pharmacity