Founded in 1870 by a Portuguese pharmacist, Granado was born as a small pharmacy From Rio and became one of the biggest cases of digital transformation and branding in Brazil. Sissi Freeman, marketing and sales director, is responsible for leading the modernization of the company, which already has more than 150 years. And all this while maintaining the brand’s ‘vintage’ and Brazilian roots. “Granado is 150 years old, but it continues to reinvent itself every day”, says Sissi.
The turning point began in 1994, when Sissi’s father, Christopher Freeman, was hired to sell the company and ended up becoming the owner. “My father was hired to sell Granado and ended up buying everything for around R$8 million reais, which at the time was more or less the company’s revenue. He saw an opportunity there because everyone he talked to about the brand had a story to tell about their grandfather who used the antiseptic powder. Everyone had a great affection for the brand”, he recalls.
Sissi Freeman participated in the program From Zero to Top and in a light and inspiring conversation she told a little about the brand’s restructuring, which included rebranding, investments in technology and a strengthening of the cosmetics line.
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Tradition turned innovation
One of the biggest milestones in Granado’s reinvention was the creation of the Pink Line, developed shortly after Sissi returned from the USA to work at the company.
The concept came about when she and the team realized that there was a huge opportunity to transform hand and foot care into a modern, feminine and desired category, connected to the habits of Brazilian women.
“We were selling a perfume in New York, it was Thanksgiving, and at the end of the day our feet were destroyed. I thought: ‘We need to do something besides cassava starch’. That’s when the Pink Line was born.”
Inspired by the brand’s classic aesthetic and the retrieval of references from the historical collection, the line debuted with the famous cuticle wax, which became a phenomenon.
Viral on TikTok
The Pink Line is to this day one of the company’s biggest branding cases, which today also invests in other categories such as perfumery and home items, such as candles and diffusers. Granado’s digital transformation happened when the brand naturally entered the network culture. The biggest symbol of this is sulfur soap, created more than a century ago and which became an organic phenomenon on TikTok.
“Sulfur soap is over 100 years old and today sells 1.5 million units per month thanks to the networks. It went viral completely organically. People started showing the product and telling about their experiences, and this turned into real sales”, says Sissi.
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This digital success transformed the product into a national phenomenon and repositioned the brand among new generations. But Granado’s digital strength goes beyond products that go viral. The company invests in content and influencer strategies. “Despite being a century-old company, we are very active on social media. And this is essential”, concludes the marketing director.
Today, the company has more than 110 own stores and has a consolidated presence in international marketplaces and perfumeries. Around 30% of revenue comes from its own retail and, according to Sissi, the international expansion with stores in Paris, London and New York reinforces the brand’s new momentum.
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Granado has also been investing in data analysis and digital behavior, integrating physical and online sales information to better understand the consumer. According to Sissi, the secret lies in the balance between tradition and innovation.
With a trajectory that mixes family heritage and digital strategy, the brand shows that the future of centuries-old businesses lies in knowing how to listen to people and connect with each one of them, whether through networks or even through olfactory memory.
“The consumer wants truth, they want history and they want quality. And that’s what Granado has been delivering for 150 years. We want to be seen as a multinational with a Brazilian soul”, summarizes Sissi.
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To find out more details about the company’s history and learn about its strategy for the future, see the full episode on The program is available and in its podcast version on the main streaming platforms such as , , , and .
About From Zero to Top
O podcast From Zero to Top is a production of InfoMoney and brings, every week, the stories of prominent women and men in the Brazilian market to tell their story, sharing the biggest challenges faced along the way and the main strategies used in building the business.
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