Austrian skincare company bringing 400+ jobs to Roanoke

Ringana, an Austrian company that manufactures and distributes skincare and nutritional products, will invest $85 million over the next five years to establish the company’s first U.S. headquarters in Roanoke, creating 435 jobs.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger‘s office made the announcement Friday. According to the governor’s office, the investment comes after Spanberger met with company leaders in February to discuss the potential facility and how the company would connect with the state’s workforce.

The Roanoke facility will serve as Ringana’s North American production and distribution hub, manufacturing and distributing the company’s skincare products, nutritional supplements and functional beverages throughout the United States. The site will also be home to research and development projects.

Roanoke Regional Partnership announced that the site would be located within Blue Ridge Commerce Park, a 146,852-square-foot office and industrial facility located one mile from the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.

An exact timeline of when Ringana plans to begin operations at the site was not provided, and the company did not immediately return requests for comment.

In a statement, Spanberger said she was “excited” to welcome Ringana to Roanoke and looked forward to the career opportunities the expansion would provide Virginians.

“Ringana’s decision to establish its first U.S. facility in Virginia underscores the commonwealth’s reputation as a welcoming, premier destination for international investment,” Spanberger said in a statement. “With our world-class workforce, strong apprenticeship and career training programs and unwavering commitment to supporting global companies in a global marketplace, Virginia offers the ideal environment for businesses to grow and succeed in the United States.”

Founded in 1996, Ringana today employs more than 800 people globally and distributes products across most of Europe and parts of Central and South America. The company said its expansion into the United States reflects the growing global demand for premium, preservative-free skincare and nutritional products.

“Following the highly successful establishment of our brand in the European market and our major successes in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, we are excited to bring Ringana to the USA,” said founder and CEO Andreas Wilfinger in a statement. “We are convinced that our freshness philosophy will inspire American customers just as much. The location in Roanoke is perfect for our plans; in addition to its excellent location, we also found an exceptionally suitable property. We were welcomed with open arms by the local community and the authorities working there, which gave us a very positive feeling about a long-term collaboration.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Roanoke and the Roanoke Regional Partnership to secure the project for Virginia, and Spanberger approved a $5 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Roanoke with the project. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, which provides training and recruitment services, will support Ringana’s job creation in the region at no cost to the company.